Changes Everything
by dinolove453
Summary: It is amazing what one person can do to change a story. They can influence actions, plot lines, and life choices. This is the story of Maggie Johnson, Harry's cousin and adoptive sister, as she grows up with Harry, attends Hogwarts with him, and changes his life and his adventures, forever, in the way only a sister can. AU, eventual H/Hr, Neville/OC, R/L. Please review!
1. Prologue: All Saint's Day 1981, The Nest

Prologue: All Saint's Day, 1981, The Nest

Albus Dumbledore couldn't help but notice that the house looked like an overgrown tree house. A log cabin perched upon tall columns, nestled amongst a heavy wooded area. The house was at least up two stories from the ground. The entire surrounding country was, after all, one giant forest preserve. Upon further reflection, Albus decided that it was the perfect house for the couple.

Dumbledore continued to walk up to the house, heading up the rickety wooden steps. The house was still "in progress," as it only had one floor with one bedroom and a large kitchen/living area, and a small bathroom. He knew the couple had had their first child and was planning to build a second floor, with bedrooms for a second child and another bathroom. But for now, they were all cramped together.

A pang of guilt entered him as he reached the door, recognizing the burden he was about to place on them, but knowing that this was the only safe and happy alternative for all. As he paused outside of it, he could hear two voices conversing calmly. One of the voices was a deep male Chicago accent, the other a calm, also low-pitched female voice, with a slight Scottish accent (being from Edinburgh as Dumbledore knew she was.)

"I'm simply saying, once we add the second floor we'll be more than ready, Nathaniel," the female commented, "We're handling Maggie alright, and we always wanted two children, maybe three."

"Melinda, I'm not saying we're not ready, I'm saying I don't want to bring another child into this world while You-Know-Who is still at large," Nathaniel sighed.

"We don't know when he'll be defeated, and I don't want to put off our family because of him. That shows how much power he truly has over us," Melinda replied stubbornly, "What happened to the man brave enough to leave behind his whole entire country and family just to marry a girl from Scotland?"

"He's been living with her for a few years now in a country that wants to kill him, his wife, his daughter, and everyone his wife loves," Nathaniel shot back. There was an awkward pause.

"I'm not saying never. I'm not even saying that I regret having Margaret, or that I regret being here with you and fighting against You-Know-Who. I would never regret all that. I just… want to be cautious with our second child, that's all. We've gone into _hiding_, Melinda. Surely that has to count for something in your decision," Nathaniel clarified calmly.

"I know," Melinda sighed, "I am just… not pleased that we have."

"Lily and James have been in hiding for a year. It was about time we followed suit, you being the closest person to Lily and all," Nathaniel soothed.

"I know, and she's going to be our secret keeper. It's just a frustrating reality to live in, that of we're in hiding and can't just go out as we please, say to Braemar or even over to Aberdeen," Melinda mumbled sadly.

"Oh please, not being able to go to the village is a blessing. I never understand what they're saying over there, they all speak Gaelic," Nathaniel scoffed.

"Everyone at Braemar does _not_ speak…"

"You can, so you don't notice as much, but they most definitely do. Anyway, have you heard from Lily recently? She was supposed to check in with us yesterday."

"I haven't heard from much anyone lately, actually. Since we went into hiding last month all I've had is a solitary letter from Dumbledore and another from Lily, both a while ago," Melinda paused, "But you're right, we should have heard from her yesterday. Should we get worried?"

"In a normal world? No. In our world? Yes."

"Great," Melinda sighed, "Now I'm worried. My cousin…"

At that moment, Dumbledore decided it was the proper time to knock on the front door and announce his presence. The two inside went completely silent and he knew he had terrified them in that instant.

"It's me, Albus," Dumbledore called calmly.

"Prove it," Nathaniel shouted back, "What was it you said to Melinda when she decided to marry me?"

"It's cruel of you to bring an innocent American into our troubles," Dumbledore replied smoothly, a slight smile on his face.

"That's right, let 'im in," Melinda laughed. The door opened and Dumbledore faced the young couple. Melinda was of medium height and curvy build, with long, thick dark red hair and almond shaped bright green eyes. Nathaniel was tall, of stocky build, with stormy blue eyes and shaggy, dark brown hair with streaks of black and a medium brown running through it.

"Hello Albus," Melinda smiled, "How are you?"

"I'm afraid I have bad news, Melinda. But we should wait for…" Dumbledore paused as another, also slightly Scottish voice rang out, "Alright, I'm here."

A tall, stern looking woman with horned rimmed glasses, in deep green robes walked into the house unannounced.

"Hello, Minerva," Dumbledore and Melinda said in unison.

"Hello, hello. You haven't heard yet, Albus tells me, because you've been in hiding," Minerva sighed, "But it's happened. Our worst fear."

"What, what?" Melinda looked between the two older people in confusion and dread. Nathaniel walked up behind her and gently put his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly.

"Lily and James have been killed," Albus stated calmly, "I'm so sorry."

Melinda let out a sob and put her hands in front of her face, "No!"

"Yes," Minerva sighed, "I am sorry too, Melinda. Obviously we all loved Lily, and you most of all."

Melinda nodded, tears flowing down her face, "It was You-Know-Who that did it?"

"Yes," Albus sighed.

"What happened to their boy? Harry?" Nathaniel asked calmly, "You told me he was the one You-Know-Who was after, in the end."

"He's alive," Albus murmured.

Melinda and Nathaniel looked at Dumbledore as if he were insane, and perhaps what he was saying was insane.

"You-Know-Who kills two fully grown, fully able wizards and leaves the baby alone? I don't believe it," Melinda whispered.

"He didn't leave him alone. Harry survived, and Voldemort has been destroyed," Dumbledore stated calmly.

"What?" Melinda and Nathaniel gasped.

"It is a complicated story, though the short version is that Voldemort didn't set out to kill Lily. She died, unnecessarily, to protect Harry. Because she did, she protected him, and he was shielded from Voldemort's killing curse. It rebounded, and now Voldemort is gone. This all happened yesterday," Dumbledore explained calmly.

Melinda and Nathaniel looked at each other in amazement.

"Is he dead? Voldemort?" Nathaniel asked, his voice rather shaky.

"The Ministry- your employers, Melinda- will want you to think so. But I do not agree," Dumbledore answered, "I believe he's been weakened, and we can expect him back. Maybe not now, maybe not a decade from now, but he'll be back."

"We are certainly in a time of relative peace now, though," Minerva interjected, "That much can be agreed upon."

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded, "Yes. I do believe he'll be gone for some time."

"What will happen to the boy?" Melinda asked quietly.

"Well, I was hoping you could take care of him. Because his mother died to protect him, her blood will protect him for a long while- until he comes of age, he will be protected, at least in part, from Voldemort, at least at home. You are related to his mother, and I believe your care would be preferable to that of her sister, Petunia, and her muggle family, don't you?" Dumbledore asked.

Melinda nodded, along with Nathaniel, "Of course we'll take him."

"Where is he?" Nathaniel asked.

"Hagrid has him, he's bringing him over," Dumbledore answered.

"Do you really think it wise, Albus? To trust Hagrid with something as important as this?" Minerva asked calmly.

"I would trust Hagrid with my life," Dumbledore responded calmly.

"As would I," Melinda agreed.

Nathaniel looked skeptical, but in the next moment a large rumble could be heard outside of the house. Rather than allow the large man walk up the rickety steps, Melinda lead the party down the long steps to the ground below. And Hagrid was indeed a large man, at least one and a half times as tall as one and most definitely wider than expected.

"'Ere he is, Dumbledore, Melinda," Hagrid greeted, carrying a small bundle in his arms. Nathaniel came down with a small toddler, with dark brown hair to match his own, though with more black than light brown streaks than his. Her eyes were like her mother's and she looked around the woods with a laugh.

"Still can' believe it about Lily an' James," Hagrid sobbed as he handed the bundle to Dumbledore, "Right tragic, it is."

"You're right, Hagrid," Melinda murmured, "But there's nothing to be done but move forward."

"You're right," Hagrid nodded, "Forgettin' meself is all. Good to see you, Melinda, Nathaniel."

"I expect we'll be seeing each other more often," Nathaniel smiled.

"That's the other thing I wish to ask of you, and I believe this shall be more of a burden on you two," Dumbledore sighed. Melinda and Nathaniel looked at him wearily, the young girl at Nathaniel's side looking up at Hagrid with wide, curious eyes.

"What, Dumbledore?" Melinda sighed.

"I wish for you to shield Harry from the wizarding world until he receives his Hogwarts letter," Dumbledore commanded mournfully, "And as a result, your children as well. They may know magic, obviously, and that you two are a witch and a wizard. But I do not want Harry to grow up in a world where he is a hero for something he couldn't control. That is too much pressure and fame for a young boy. I know it will be difficult, but all I ask is that you shield him from all of that."

Melinda frowned, "And our jobs?"

"It's alright, Melinda," Nathaniel paused, "I can run the Apothecary from home, sending owls out to my employees. Owls are alright, Dumbledore?"

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded, "I of course know there are some things you can't hide them from, and that is one of them. And obviously you can go visit your family in America, Nathaniel."

"Will I be able to continue my work at the Ministry? As a diplomat?" Melinda sighed.

"You may, the Minister has approved it through correspondence until you return to the Wizarding World. I am sorry, Melinda," Dumbledore sighed.

"That's fine," Melinda paused, "Be glad we're alright with this, Dumbledore."

"I know you two are reasonable but this is beyond my hopes," Dumbledore paused, "And I thank you profusely."

"Ah, it's alright," Melinda sighed as she stepped forward and took the bundle of baby from Dumbledore's arms, "We'll see you lot in ten years or so."

"Also, another thing. Concerning who you write to," Dumbledore paused, "It might interest you to know that Severus Snape has switched over our side, and has my complete trust."

Melinda and Nathaniel both raised their eyebrows.

"You sure, Albus?" Melinda frowned, "I know Severus very well, but even I wouldn't…"

"I am absolutely sure, Melinda, and please don't question me on it again," Dumbledore stated, "Shall we go, Minerva, Hagrid?"

The two nodded and all three stepped out on to the path leading up to the house. Minerva looked down at the baby's face. He had a lot of messy, black hair, eyes that matched her own, and a lightning bolt scar running down his forehead. He was asleep, and happily so, curled up in Melinda's arms.

"Oh, and Melinda?" Dumbledore called from the road. She looked up at the man immediately.

"Be sure to write," the twinkle in Dumbledore's blue eyes could be seen from that far as he spun in midair and disappeared out of sight.

AN: Well, here it is- the Universe where my original character, Maggie, grows up with Harry. If you want to know more about the back story and development of this character, check out my other story, Hand Magic, and feel free to review. This story shall cover most of Harry and Maggie's journey through Hogwarts and what changes as a result of her presence- it's more than you think! I plan to update as I can, but I am a college student and rather busy during the school year.

Please review, they are what keep me going with stories and feedback is the reason why I post. I know how the story goes, and I write my favorite passages in my notebooks, so I really don't need to post this. But I do enjoy sharing my ideas with the internet and I enjoy to hear what you all think, good and bad, so please share! Thank you! Review!


	2. Ch 1: July 15th, 1991, The Nest

Chapter One: July 15th, 1991, The Nest

"Harry James Potter, you're a right foul git and I hate you," I shouted at the top of my lungs from the top of the stairs.

"Margaret Natalie Johnson, you're the best adopted sister in the world and I beg for your forgiveness," I heard Harry respond from the bottom of the steps, down at the forest ground beneath the house. I scowled further at his apology.

"That's not going to cut it and you know it!"

"Pleaaaaase Maggie?" Harry begged. He began to walk up the steps, his insanely wild black hair covering his scar and part of his left eye, shielding it over his glasses. He was scrawny and short, where I was tall and a little bit more defined, and my hair was a shade lighter and browner than his (though still dark and still messy.) In fact, the only way you could tell we were related was because our eyes were identical- almond shaped and green.

"You're not allowed to walk up those steps until you pay proper homage to your new leader," I declared, standing proudly.

"I never voted for you," Harry stuck out his tongue at me.

"See, it's that kind of attitude that demoted you to the forest floor in the first place," I laughed, "Come now, I'm the oldest so I get to be Queen and I call the shots. It's obvious."

"You're barely the oldest! You were born September 2nd, 1979 and I was born July 31st, 1980. You're not even a year older," Harry whined, finally up to eye level with me at the deck.

"I'm still older so I'm Queen," I declared again.

"When do I get to be King?" Harry begged, "I never get to be King in this game."

"Your birthday's coming up. You can be King then, I promise," I swore earnestly. I meant it. He got to be King on his birthday, it was only fair.

"Alright, well I'm bored of this now," Harry paused, "Want to go explore the forest?"

"Do mum and dad fight whenever mum accidentally burns the dinner and declares that she will never again cook for the family?" I laughed, "Wanna get Elena?"

"She won't want to come, she's a chicken," Harry shook his head, "C'mon, don't even think about it."

"Alright, alright," I grinned and followed Harry down the long meandering steps.

"You two! Come back inside the house!" I suddenly heard my mother shout as we finally got to the bottom. Both Harry and I groaned in unison and began walking, at a much slower pace, up the two flights of wooden steps.

"Remember when these were so rickety we could shake 'em if we both moved at the same time in the same direction?" Harry commented thoughtfully.

"And we almost fell off so mum had to be a party pooper and make 'em stronger with magic," I sighed, "Man, the good ol' days."

Elena was waiting for us at the top of the steps. My little sister and Harry's biological second cousin, adoptive sister, she was born November 21st, 1982. She was short and scrawny, like Harry, with dark red hair like our mum and the same eyes as me and Harry. She hated her hair, though, and begged our mum to change it or dye it black like Harry's hair. Our mum absolutely refused, though we knew if Elena was allowed to go out by herself (none of us were, it was rubbish) she would have dyed it on her own long ago.

"Mum needs to talk to you too. You must be in trouble," she declared in a sing song voice.

"I don't remember doing anything wrong within the last day, do you?" I turned to Harry and frowned. He shook his head.

"You're not in trouble, but if you don't hurry up you will be," my mum called from the kitchen.

The house was a two story log cabin situated on sturdy wooden legs, like a tree house, that was two stories up from the ground. Mum had always thought about adding a third story, but we didn't really need it. Mum and Dad had their room on the ground floor and Harry and Elena and I shared the huge room on the top. In fact, the top floor was only a bathroom and a large room with windows for walls all along one side, the spiral stairwell situated in the corner. There were no other walls but those that enclosed the bathroom. Mum and Dad had made a magically invisible pipe system for the plumbing from both the bathrooms so it really looked like we were just standing on sticks.

We walked inside into the kitchen and living room, looking up at my mother with the most innocent faces we could muster.

"You're not in trouble! Come to the kitchen table, we need to tell you something. Something that we've been keeping from you both- and you, Elena, come back here- for your whole lives," Melinda sighed.

We walked over to the table and sat down, looking nervously at each other from the corner of our eyes.

"What is it, Aunt Melinda?" Harry finally asked timidly.

"As you know, your father and I are a wizard and a witch," Mum began, "And you are a wizard, Harry, and you two are witches, Elena and Maggie."

We all nodded, remembering with smiles times when we accidentally blew up the dinner on purpose, or made the trees grow even thicker around the house, or that time when I saw a fairy and I managed to trap it using my hands and some sort of magic.

"Well, there are many, many more witches and wizards in the world. Many more magical creatures and places, too," Mum sighed.

"Why have we never met them?" Harry gasped.

"That's the other thing we've kept from you," Mum seemed to be unable to stop sighing, "And it's a long story."

"Well, clearly you've asked us up to tell us," I shrugged. Mum started to narrow her eyes at me but then seemed to think the better of it, taking a deep breath.

"Well, Harry, as you know, you were brought to us when your parents died, ten years ago," Mum began calmly, "We've always told you they were murdered, but we've been evasive on the rest of it, waiting until this moment to tell you about it."

"Alright," Harry look stricken and rather fearful.

"Well, back before you all were born, there was a man. He was about as evil as a man could get, and as powerful as a wizard could be. He was called many names, but he called himself Lord Voldemort," Mum seemed to shudder a bit at the name before continuing, "Pretty much the entirety of the Wizarding community calls him You-Know-Who."

"Why?" Harry asked, curious.

"Because we fear his very name, with what he did to everyone," Dad walked in then, looking more serious than I had ever seen him.

"Alright," Harry mumbled, though he looked unconvinced. I found myself agreeing with him- why fear the name of a man? It's just words.

"At any rate, he gathered followers, other dark witches and wizards to help him. He wanted to rule the Wizarding World and anyone who stood in his way could pretty much count on their eventual death, or at least having to go into hiding," Mum smiled thinly, "Your dad and I were part of a resistance movement, along with your parents Harry."

"You, Dad? You're not British…" I asked in confusion.

"No, but I came to this country for a conference for Apothecaries, as you know, when I was twenty five. Your mum was only eighteen," Dad smiled over at Mum, who rolled her eyes as Dad continued, "And I fell in love with her immediately."

"Aww," Elena and I said in unison while Harry made a gagging face.

"Anyway, I knew I would do anything for her, and when she said she couldn't leave Britain, not when she had to help fight against You-Know-Who, I agreed to stay. We got married, and in two years had you Maggie. Anyways, I joined mainly for your mother, though I did of course believe in the cause," Dad nodded.

"We had to go into hiding ourselves, for the role we played in fighting You-Know-Who, but we were only in hiding for a month, and my parents were killed by You-Know-Who's followers- but that might have been because they were muggles than anything else," Mum explained, and I remembered she used that term to describe the non-magical people living in the village, "You and your parents, Harry, were in hiding from the moment you were born."

Harry looked stricken, "Why?"

"Well, your parents were even bigger in the resistance than me and your Uncle. There are other reasons too, of course, but they're not in my place to tell you," Mum stated firmly.

"Ok," Harry murmured.

"You haven't done anything wrong, Harry. I just know there's… well, we'll get to that," Mum paused, "Anyway, You-Know-Who eventually found your parents, Harry, and killed them- they didn't even have a chance when he got there. But when he got to you, something stopped him. He couldn't kill you, the spell he sent rebounded."

Harry's eyes widened and I felt my own do the same.

"The curse rebounded and hit You-Know-Who himself, making him weak enough to have to flee, go into hiding. Many believe he's dead, but your father and I believe that is ridiculous- he was too powerful to not return from this. But ever since then, our world has been at peace," Mum explained.

Harry nodded, looking pensive.

"But the thing is, Harry, no one had ever survived a killing curse before. No one, in all the history of magic. So you… well, you became a legend. Famous, for something that you couldn't even control!" Mum shook her head, "Known as the Boy-Who-Lived to everyone in our world. A hero."

Harry's eyes widened more and he looked overwhelmed.

"Of course, no one wanted you to grow up in that world, that expected too much of you and thought too much of you, while you were still growing and deserved as happy a childhood as you could manage. So your Uncle and I agreed to raise you apart from all of that, in a normal setting, so you could be as well-adjusted as possible," Mum finished, "And I truly apologize for keeping all this from you."

Harry frowned, looking at the table and clearly thinking, "So you had to keep it from Maggie and Elena as well?"

"It was only fair," Mum sighed.

Harry nodded, looking up and determined at Mum, "Well, I understand. And it probably was for the best."

"Exactly," Dad smiled a little, "Growing up famous for something you couldn't control? You'd either be terrified of everything or have the biggest head I've ever seen."

Elena, Harry and I all burst into giggles.

"Wait, why are you telling me this now? Surely I haven't done growing up a well-adjusted person," Harry frowned.

"Well, that's the thing," Mum suddenly took two letters that must have come earlier by the owl post from the window sill. She handed one to me and one to Harry. I looked down at in in amazement, as I don't think I had ever gotten a letter in my life, and nor had Harry. The envelope was stuffed to the brim, made of the same yellow parchment I always saw mum writing on for work. The address on the outside was written in emerald green ink and read, "Ms. M. Johnson, The Big Room on the Second Floor, The Nest, near Braemar, Scotland."

"Oddly specific address," I commented. Harry nodded, showing me the cover of his, which said the exact same thing except it was addressed to Mr. H. Potter.

I turned it over and found a seal on the back, a large letter H surrounded by a coat of arms with a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake. I ran my finger under the envelope and opened it curiously. I pulled out the letter and read in amazement,

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZADRY_

_Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Soc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Ms. Johnson, _

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. _

_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. _

_Yours sincerely, _

_Minerva McGonagall,  
Deputy Headmistress. _

I looked at the letter in amazement, looking back up at my parents after finishing, "There's a _school_ for people like us?"

"Of course there is," Mum smiled, "There are lots of schools, actually. Uncle Nathaniel went to the Chicago Academy of Magical Arts."

"Proud graduate, I was. But you three should go to Hogwarts, even I can admit there's a magical feeling about the place that just can't be beaten," Dad smiled.

"And we agreed that we wanted you to be trained at the school, to meet witches and wizards your own age and finally join our world. We could have taught you at home, but we think this is better," Mum finished.

"And we knew that you'd be getting your letters around now, you have to be eleven on September 1st, the day you get on the train. This means you just barely made Harry's year, Maggie," Dad laughed, "Back in the States you would have been in the year above."

I nodded, looking down at the letter again, "So… what does this mean? Now that we know?"

"Well, I plan on going back to work in the workplace. As you know, I'm an international diplomat- well, I'm a diplomat for our government, the Ministry of Magic, and I fully intend to go back to work there. Your father will still work out of the house until Elena can go to Hogwarts, and then he plans to run the Apothecary from the store itself," Mum explained.

"And what about us? Do we get to meet your friends that you always write to?" I asked curiously.

"Yes," Mum smiled, "We were actually planning, if it's ok with you Harry, to have a little birthday party where we officially reintroduce you guys to the world- mainly your birthday party, of course, but we'll invite all our old friends over and such."

"I like it," Harry beamed.

"And today, we're going into Diagon Alley- the part of London where all the magical shops are- to get your school supplies," Dad finished.

"Wait, let me send a letter back to Dumbledore to say you're going… you two _are_ going, yes?" Mum paused, "It is ultimately your choice."

"Uh, _yeah_," Harry and I answered in unison. Mum beamed and walked over to our owl, Euclid, and quickly scribbled out two notes.

The day was filled with chaos, new sights and sounds and smells that overwhelmed me and my siblings, but it was absolutely fantastic. Harry and I each got to pick a pet, and we both picked owls- he, a Snowy owl, me, a Great Horned owl. And the wand shop was the strangest place of all, with Harry trying out literally every wand Mr. Ollivander had.

Eventually, he settled on a wand- or I should say, a wand settled on him- that was holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple, but had the feather of the same phoenix that gave Voldemort his wand, which simply amazed me. The wand that picked me was English Oak and Dragon Heartstring, fourteen and a half inches, solid. I knew the moment I held it in my hand that it was literally the perfect wand for me.

We spent the next two weeks eagerly looking at all of our school stuff, simply unable to do much else. Harry finally decided to call his owl Hedwig, while I had already settled to call mine Darwin, despite the name being of a muggle. I'm afraid to say we neglected Elena in this time, as she often came into the big room wanting to play, but we would have our nose in our textbooks and laughing when we found something curious or just odd.

The day of Harry's birthday was a pure mess- Mum was in a frenzy getting everything ready, Dad was already grumpy (and the day had barely begun,) and Elena seemed rather quiet, shunted to a corner.

Finally, we could hear loud cracks sounding at the edge of the lot, which seemed to mean to Mum that witches and wizards were arriving at the house. I looked over at Harry excitedly, who mirrored my excitement and beamed at me. We both ran out to the front of the house, my pony tail swishing madly behind me as I did so.

We looked down at the ground to see Mum hugging an extraordinarily large man. I looked over at Harry in amazement and back down to watch as the man walked all the way up the stairs to the deck.

"Hello! You mus' be Harry, an' you mus' be Maggie," the man beamed widely down at us, "I'm Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys an' Grounds at Hogwarts."

We both looked up at him in amazement. Were all people outside the family this big? We shook his hand and beamed, however, simply excited to meet new people.

"So you two 'ave finally joined us all, 'ave you? An' your sister too, I imagine. Where is Elena? I've seen you, before, Maggie but I've never seen 'er," Hagrid beamed.

Elena came out from her corner where she was reading a book, looking shyly up at him.

"Well, you look exactly like yer mum, and Harry's mum ter boot," Hagrid laughed, "No surprises. Why, it's striking."

Elena smiled a little and shook his much larger hand earnestly. Hagrid stepped back to look at all three of us and beamed behind his large bushy black beard.

"You three look right like yer parents, all three of ya. My, tha's a sight for sore eyes. I'm so 'appy ter see you all coming to Hogwarts, it'll be nice to have yer there. Be sure ter visit me when you 'ave time off Harry, Maggie- I live in the cottage down on the grounds. We can 'ave a spot of tea and talk about school," Hagrid beamed.

"We'd love to," Harry responded with a large smile. Hagrid continued to beam in response.

"Hagrid, did you _apparate_ here?" Dad suddenly came in, looking at Hagrid as if he had done something wrong. Harry and I looked at each other in curiosity.

"Actually, I side-alonged wi' Minerva, but she 'ad ter go back fo' somethin'," Hagrid explained. Dad frowned and went back to the kitchen area.

"What's apparating?" Harry and I asked him in unison. Hagrid laughed.

"Traveling from place ter place by magic- you won' be doin' that fer years yet, very advanced stuff tha'," Hagrid explained.

"Why can't you do it, then?" I asked curiously.

"Well… ter be 'onest with you two, I got expelled from Hogwarts in my third year, so I'm not allowed ter do magic really," Hagrid answered, his blush evident even behind all the hair.

"Oh, it's alright," Harry answered, "Sorry for asking, sir."

"Don' be calling me sir," Hagrid laughed, "Not deserving of tha', am I? But thank you," he smiled.

"I'll probably get expelled, to tell you the truth, so no judgement from me," I beamed.

"You better not get expelled!" Dad shouted. Hagrid laughed.

"Bit of a rebel, are ya? Just the same as yer mum," Hagrid shook his head, "No surprises there."

I grinned and Harry elbowed me in the side.

Another crack occurred and we eagerly ran to the deck to look down and see even more people standing there. Hagrid went and began talking to Elena as we rushed down the steps. There was a tall woman dressed in deep green robes with a matching hat- she was older looking and rather stern as well, with glasses. There was another man who looked even more ancient, with a long white beard and long white hair, wearing purple robes with glasses of his own and a twinkle in his bright blue eyes. A third man was already talking to Mum; he had black, long, kind of greasy looking hair, a hooked nose and dark eyes, and he was wearing black robes to match everything else.

"Ah, here they are," Mum smiled, "Maggie, Harry, these three are going to be some of your professors at Hogwarts. This is Professor McGonagall," Mum gestured to the woman in green, "Teacher of Transfiguration and head of Gryffindor House. She was one of my favorite professors back when I was in school."

"Thank you, Melinda," Professor McGonagall smiled, though it was a very thin one, "Even though you weren't in my house, you were a very gifted student of Transfiguration and was one of my favorites as well."

"Houses?" Harry asked with a frown.

"Oh!" Mum looked embarrassed, "Yes, well, Hogwarts has four houses, all students get divided up into them, you see- Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin."

"Haven't even explained that yet?" the man in black sneered, "Honestly, Melinda."

"Well, there's just so much to explain, I've lost track," Melinda sighed, "Well, you see, Hogwarts was founded by four witches and wizards, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor, and Salazar Slytherin. They each wanted to take in different groups of students based on who they were. Instead of make four different schools, however, they decided to just divide up the students and have houses for each of them based on these traits they valued the most. And, to this day, students are still sorted into houses- obviously people are friends between houses, but your house is really where your family at school is and such."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Melinda," Professor McGonagall smiled.

"So what are the traits for each house?" Harry asked curiously.

"And what house were you in, Mum?" I asked.

"We can explain all that later, I still have people to introduce," Mum sighed, "This is Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts," Mum gestured to the old man in purple robes.

"It's a real pleasure to see you two again," Dumbledore smiled at the two of us, a kind and cheery expression that made me feel safe, for unknowable reasons.

"And this is Professor Severus Snape. He'll be teaching potions and he's the head of Slytherin house," Melinda finished, gesturing to the man in black. He looked down at both of us with a slight sneer.

"Nice to meet you, Professor Snape," Harry held out his hand. Professor Snape seemed to shake his hand rather reluctantly, still sneering, but now I could tell it was more at him than at me. I frowned in confusion.

"Shall we all head up into the house?" Mum suggested as though nothing had happened. We did so, but soon she had to double back as a few more cracks filled the air. I turned around and saw a gaggle more of adults all milling about on the ground.

"Alright, you two come back down," Mum lead us back as the three Professors reentered the house. We walked downstairs and I felt exceedingly short surrounded by all of the people.

"Here we go, more introductions. This is Remus Lupin, he was a good friend of your dad's, Harry, and we got to know each other more after school," Mum introduced us to a man with brown hair but with quite a few greys in it, and a lot of scars along his face. He looked rather shaggy, to be honest, and even a little sickly.

"You look just like your father, Harry," Mr. Lupin shook Harry's hand, "Just like him. And you look loads like your mother, Maggie," he shook my hand as well.

"My hair's like my dad's, though," I interjected. Mr. Lupin smiled.

"Well, yes, but everything else, just like your mum. Your mum and I weren't in the same year or even the same house; she was two years above me and your parents, Harry. But she and your mum were always close and we got to know her over the years," Mr. Lupin explained.

"What house were you in?" Harry asked curiously.

"Gryffindor, same as your parents," Mr. Lupin explained, "Shall I go upstairs, Melinda?"

"Yes, everyone's up there. Sorry that I had to invite Severus," she muttered the last bit softly under her breath, almost so that we couldn't hear her.

"Ah it's alright Melinda, I'm sure we'll be able to avoid any awkwardness," and he walked upstairs to the house. The next person who walked up to us was covered, literally covered, in scars that almost made him look like his skin was wooden. He had a glass eye and a peg leg and a chunk blasted out of his nose.

"This is Alastor Moody, who was part of our resistance movement back in the days of the Dark Lord," Melinda introduced. The man gruffly shook our hands and wobbled up the stairs, seemingly unwilling to talk.

"This is Dedalus Diggle, Elphias Dodge, Emmeline Vance, Mundungus Fletcher," Mum went through as each of these wizards and the witch all shook our hands, declaring how delighted they were to meet us (especially Harry, though I kind of expected that,) and headed upstairs to the kitchen.

"Here's Sturgis Podmore, Professor Flitwick- he'll be your charms teacher at Hogwarts and he's head of Ravenclaw- Pomona Sprout, your herbology teacher and head of Hufflepuff, Andromeda Tonks, her husband Ted, and their daughter Nymphadora, who just graduated Hogwarts-"

"Don't _call me _Nymphadora!"

"Professor Slughorn- sorry, Horace Slughorn, he's retired now, used to be the potions teacher when I went to school there…" Mum looked overwhelmed as so many witches and wizards walked up into our house. I looked over at Harry who looked just as frazzled as I felt.

"Renee Bobbers, a friend of mine from school, and Gerald Avery, the only member of his family who actually fought against You-Know-Who, also my friend from school," Mum introduced the last of the people as Renee walked upstairs.

"My good for nothing brother and father both joined his followers and decided that it would be best to pretend I didn't exist," Gerald smiled, "My twin brother, of all people. But still, Melinda Renee and I made a good team."

"Didn't we just?" Mum beamed.

"Renee and I got married, so you should call her Avery, by the way," Gerald suggested offhandedly.

"Honestly Gerald, you never write to me, you and Renee. You should have told me!" Mum sighed.

"You were busy," Gerald laughed, "I think that should be the last of us?"

"Should be," Mum nodded and lead us upstairs. I turned to Harry in amazement.

"Do you feel as frazzled as I feel?" I asked him.

"If you feel frazzled, than for the love of everything I do," Harry nodded.

We finally reached the house and I had never, _ever_, seen the place so crowded. Everyone was mingling and talking and catching up with one another, or eating, or making sure to catch up with my parents. I overheard so many snippets of conversation I could barely breath.

"Augusta Longbottom couldn't come?" I heard Professor McGonagall ask Dedalus Diggle.

"No, poor Neville was sick- the day after his birthday, too," Mr. Diggle answered.

"You did a fine job raising those kids, Melinda," Mrs. Avery commented calmly, "Never thought the son of James Potter could be so shy and humble."

"It really wasn't so hard, with Maggie being his adoptive sister…" my mum responded. I looked to Harry, who was laughing, and I scowled at him.

"Can't believe how like Melinda and Lily they are," I heard Mr. Lupin comment to Professor Flitwick.

"The resemblance is uncanny," Professor Flitwick, the tiny little man, agreed.

"I would have to disagree," Professor Snape drolled, still sneering, "The girl might be like her mother, but not nearly as much as the youngest one, and Potter is nothing like…"

"I talked to him for all of two minutes when he came back upstairs and he's exactly like Lily," Mr. Lupin retorted. I looked over at Harry, who shrugged in confusion.

The youngest person there- Nymphadora Tonks- then accidentally bumped into Harry.

"Oh, sorry Harry! I'm right clumsy I am," she stuck out her hand to us both, "Tonks, please call me Tonks."

"Nice to meet you," we both smiled, happy to be talking to someone similar to our age.

"Pity we couldn't go to Hogwarts together, but I expect I'll see you around. My mum and dad are friends with yours," Tonks paused, "Don't cause too much trouble at school, alright? Not like me," she laughed.

"Of course," we both lied, grinning at each other.

The party went on for hours and hours, until the late night and everyone was yawning. The last guests finally left, and Elena had already gone to bed, simply having collapsed upon hers I believed.

"Well, I'm sorry that was so overwhelming. I underestimated my old mates," Mum sighed, turning back to me and Harry.

"Aww, it's alright," I laughed.

"It was fun to meet so many people!" Harry beamed.

"Well, do you have any questions before you go to bed?" Mum asked as Dad walked around, waving his wand and cleaning everything in sight.

"Well… can you explain houses more to us?" Harry asked timidly.

Mum sighed, "I figured you'd ask that. Well, Gryffindors are known for their bravery- a lot of people who fought against You-Know-Who were Gryffindors, and your parents were of course, Harry. And once we were up at Hogwarts, me and your dad Maggie, and we decided we'd have a bit of fun and sort your father."

"How?" I asked in confusion.

"Oh, you get sorted into your house with this hat- don't want to give too much away and all that, but he did it and he was in Gryffindor. Of course," Mum smiled over at Dad who beamed back.

"Ravenclaw is the house that's defined by intelligence and creativity. I've known many a genius in that house and they've always impressed me," Mum continued, "Hufflepuff is the house characterized by loyalty and hard working. They had a lot of fighters against You-Know-Who, as well, and you won't find a better friend than in Hufflepuff. They do often get the short end of the stick, though, since they often seem the 'left-over' house."

"And the last house is Slytherin, which is mainly characterized by people with ambition and self-preservation, people who know what they want and aren't afraid to get it. Unfortunately, You-Know-Who was from that house, and a lot of his followers were from there," Mum sighed.

"What house were you in?" I asked. Mum took another deep breath.

"I was also in Slytherin, but there were of course a few good eggs in that house. Renee and Gerald were in my year with me, for example, and we all fought against You-Know-Who as hard as anyone," Mum explained.

Harry and I nodded, both thinking.

"You don't know what house you're in yet so don't think on it too much," Mum smiled, "You'll find out soon enough. Now, off to bed, both of you."

We headed up the stairs, both exhausted, but ecstatic for the days ahead.

AN: Sorry for the very explanatory chapter, but I did feel I needed to ease into the story with a chapter like this, and I also had fun introducing the main characters to all the 'old crowd,' as it were.

I also spent a long time deciding on Maggie's wand, utilizing the stuff from Pottermore on woods, cores, lengths and flexibility, so it definitely wasn't haphazardly put together.

Hogwarts in the next chapter! Get excited! Also, shout outs to Brigadier for their review on my old story, Hand Magic (thanks for sticking with it and I hope you're checking this out, though you are anonymous so I have no idea), and then to DestroyerDRT for reviewing this story- yes, I hope to finish it, it just might take a while due to its length and school, but I will not abandon it, I promise. If you guys stick with me, I promise to stick with you. In that vein, thanks to perfectships and Harmioney247 for following the story- feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think!

Please review, favorite and follow guys! Seriously, it's how I can take on such long projects. Review!


	3. Ch 2: September 1st, 1991, H Express

Chapter Two: September 1st, 1991, Hogwarts Express

My trainers were old, I could tell immediately as I stared down at them. I had my legs raised up and resting on the seat across from me and my shoes were in full view. The sneakers were getting a little frayed and I could see a hole in the side of the shoe.

My jeans weren't much better, a hole had grown in the covering of both of my knees from falling down so many times. My hoodie was actually in alright condition, and I was absent mindedly rebraiding my side braids.

Harry was sitting next to me, sitting in much the same position. He was also wearing ratty jeans and trainers, also worn out from months and months of playing in the woods. He was wearing a flannel shirt, though, and was waving his wand in the air in front of him.

The train had just started moving and I stared in amazement at the nature outside the window, already amazed at the southern landscape and now even more mesmerized with our journey back north.

"I'm starving," Harry commented lightly. I looked over at him and shrugged.

"I dunno what to do about that. Mum and Dad gave me some money to buy food but I don't know where we'd go for that," I laughed.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" a kindly voice asked. We both looked up to see an elderly witch pushing a cart filled with all the sweets Mum and Dad would bring back for us when they went out. I felt my eyes widen and the two of us ran up to the cart and picked out our favorites- cauldron cakes, pumpkin pasties, chocolate frogs, drooble's best blowing gum. Harry beamed at me as we ate, the boy now in a clearly better mood.

"Seriously, you're always happier when you eat," I giggled. Harry stuck a now very blue tongue out at me and I slapped him in the arm, laughing.

"I can't believe we're going," Harry commented after a moment. I nodded in earnest agreement.

We continued to fly through the British countryside, which became progressively wilder as we went past. We pulled out our favorite pack of playing cards and sat a little space apart on the seat, occupied for a few more hours as we laughed and ate more sweets than I think we ever had before. Harry couldn't stop smiling and I knew I mirrored his expression.

At one point I looked up and saw a boy our age looking into the compartment rather curiously, and probably shyly. He was shorter, and round-faced (and, to be honest, round around the middle as well,) with dark brown hair covering his face and crooked teeth. His eyes were brown.

The moment he saw that I knew he was staring his face colored bright red and he scurried away. I frowned, wishing I had followed him. Harry looked up and saw my expression.

"Maggie?" he asked, looking behind him at the door to the compartment, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I shook my head, "There was a boy who looked like he wanted to come in, is all."

"Why didn't you wave him in? I love you, but I don't want it to be just the two of us for all seven years," Harry grinned. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Well if you want us to make friends, you should be the front man I think. I probably will be rude to everyone we meet or something," I paused, "And I wanted to but he saw I saw he was watching us and ran away in embarrassment."

"Aww, Maggie, you're _already_ scaring people off?" Harry groaned, "We're not even _there_ yet."

I shoved him in the arm and Harry laughed in amusement. I bent down, trying to salvage the situation with my shoes, as Harry turned to look at the compartment door again. When I looked up, a girl was standing in the doorway. She had very, very bushy brown hair a little lighter than mine- I had always thought my hair was bushy, but I guess I had just been proven wrong. She was already wearing the Hogwarts uniform and robes, and had rather large teeth and brown eyes.

"Have either of you seen a toad? Neville's lost one," the girl asked, her voice sounding rather bossy.

"No, sorry," Harry replied calmly.

"We can help look if you want," I offered, feeling guilty about the boy from earlier and wanting to reach out. The girl beamed.

"That would be lovely, we're having a right time trying to find it. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" Hermione held out her hand to each of us. I could see Harry give me look out of the corner of his eye but I beamed.

"I'm Maggie Johnson, and this is my second cousin and adopted brother, Harry Potter," I introduced proudly. Harry groaned under his breath.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Hermione gasped, "I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in _Modern Magical History_ and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts _and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century._"

"Am I?" Harry breathed. I smiled slightly at his overwhelmed nature.

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," Hermione rambled.

I finally managed to interject, stating, "Well, we both figured our parents would have told us the really important things… and I was more interested in my Transfiguration book."

"She was," Harry agreed, "I think she's almost finished _Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_, and that's supposed to last us for a few years yet."

"I looked at the beginning too, isn't it fascinating?" Hermione nodded fervently, "I can't wait to try out everything and really get into the wandwork."

"I agree," I smiled, "Let's go look for that toad, eh?"

"Oh yes, I've almost forgotten. All the excitement, you know," Hermione laughed, "Come on." We all walked through the corridors, asking compartment after compartment and looking everywhere we could without appearing… well, rude. One compartment looked like they were trying very hard to not laugh at Hermione and her demeanor- it was filled with a bunch of first years, like us, but they were a red-headed, tall and lanky boy with a thousand freckles; a tall thin dark-skinned boy with curly black hair, and a short Irish boy with shaggy brown hair. We moved on, not really pausing to get to know them too well, I annoyed with their treatment of Hermione.

We paced up and down the length of the train, I felt, before Hermione finally gasped in defeat.

"I don't know _where_ that toad is. You two had better change, I expect we'll be arriving soon," Hermione suggested.

"We will, what compartment are you in? In case we find Neville's toad," I asked calmly.

"Oh, we're just two doors down from you if you want to visit. Bye Maggie, Harry," Hermione waved and walked past us down the hall.

Harry glared at me a little as we went into our compartment and started getting dressed. I simply beamed in response.

"We want to make new friends, you said, and I rather like her, even if she's overwhelming and talks a great deal," I laughed.

Harry sighed, "Oh all right, I suppose she isn't _all_ bad. She just seems like a bit of a know-it-all."

"Well, maybe she won't be in our house and it won't matter," I reassured as we both turned our backs and changed into our school uniforms, me grumbling as I put on the long socks and pinchy shoes and, for that matter, the really annoying tie. I refused to tuck in my shirt, and simply hid it underneath my sweater.

I turned back to Harry and he beamed at me. We grabbed our bags and walked down the corridor, reaching Hermione and Neville's compartment and entering inside. It was occupied only by the two of them, making me feel rather sad for Neville that he only could attract the friendship of this overly talkative girl, and sad for Hermione that she had scared so many off.

We entered the compartment and I beamed at them, and Harry even managed a weak smile.

"Hello, you must be Neville, owner of the lost toad," I stuck out my hand for him to shake, which he took timidly, "I'm Maggie Johnson and this is my adopted brother and second cousin, Harry Potter. "

"Harry Potter? Really?" Neville mumbled.

"I'm a bit surprised by it myself," Harry offered with a kind smile. We sat down in the compartment and Hermione immediately began chattering away again about the books she had read over the summer holidays. Neville looked positively overwhelmed and I managed him a kind smile. He blushed and looked away.

"So, Neville, tell us about yourself," I managed to interject during a lull in Hermione's soliloquy.

"Well, been livin' with me Gran since I was little," Neville stammered, "Didn't show much magical ability until I was thrown off a second story window and bounced on the ground. Was completely surprised I got to go to Hogwarts."

I smiled sympathetically, "If it's any consolation, Harry and I didn't even know it existed until last July."

"Really?" Neville gasped, wide-eyed.

"Yeah, my parents wanted Harry to grow up well-adjusted and not, you know, egotistical," I finished.

"Smart of them, really," Hermione agreed.

We continued to chat as the train finally began to slow into the station, coming to a halt as we all scrambled out onto the platform. We walked out there and saw Hagrid standing in front of all the students, smiling and beaming at everyone.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" he called cheerfully to all of us. We all finally managed to congregate around him as he continued, "C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

We all followed Hagrid down a wet, slippery path. It was extremely dark and lined with trees. I breathed in deeply- the nature, the air, the sense of wildness filled me up and comforted me, though I could tell Neville was rather overwhelmed by everything.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid declared over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

The castle was… amazing. We were situated on the edge of a ginormous lake, which was not my favorite natural location by any stretch of the imagination (I had always been attracted more to fire, air, and rocks than water, though I did love the ocean sometimes, if I was in the mood. Anyways, not much of a water person was I.) The castle was perched atop a high mountain on the other side of the lake, with many towers and turrets and sparkling windows and it simply looked like it was trying to touch the edge of the sky.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid ordered, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry, Hermione, Neville and I easily climbed into one, Harry now grinning from ear to ear at me and I couldn't help but return the expression. Neville looked dumbfounded and Hermione was also smiling wider than I thought she could.

"Everyone in?" Hagrid shouted, who had a boat to himself, "Right then – FORWARD!"

The boats moved all together as one, going across the perfect lake.

"I can't believe it, Harry," I whispered as we continued on to an underground harbor.

"This is the best place ever," Harry agreed.

"It's just… amazing," Hermione whispered behind us. Neville appeared speechless.

"I want to explore all these forests," I mumbled. Harry nodded fervently in agreement.

As we climbed out onto the rocks and pebbles of the cavern that served as a harbor, Hagrid walked up to us and handed us something from one of the boats, "Oy, you there! Is this your toad?"

Neville eagerly grabbed onto the toad and held to it for dear life. He looked at me shyly, "His name's Trevor."

We walked up to the front doors of the castle and Hagrid knocked on them loudly. Professor McGonagall came out immediately, looking down at us all sternly. She lead us up into the castle to a grand entrance hall.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she began, "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Harry immediately began to flatten his hair but I made the point to pull out the end of my white polo shirt, making the corner stick out from underneath my sweater. I then loosened my collar a bit and tightened my pony tail, so it was up higher and even more obnoxiously large. Harry grinned at me in amusement.

"I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly," Professor McGonagall nodded and left back into the hall.

Suddenly, a blond boy, with very pale skin walked up to us, as we were standing in front. "Is it true? What they were saying on the train? Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts," the boy stated pompously to Harry next to me.

"Yes," Harry responded thinly, causing the murmurs of many students behind him. Two mean looking, thickset boys came up behind the pale boy.

"This is Crabbe, and this is Goyle. And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," Draco set out his hand for Harry to shake. I heard a snort somewhere in the crowd that made me giggle myself.

"And who's this one?" Draco nodded at me with narrowed eyebrows.

"Maggie Johnson, at your service," I bowed cheekily, "The great adopted sister of Harry Potter."

Draco nodded, his eyes narrowed, "And who is this one?" he nodded at Hermione next to him.

"Hermione Granger," she introduced, almost as pompous as he had.

"I don't recognize your name," Draco sneered, "Who are your parents?"

"Muggles," Hermione answered defensively.

Draco seemed to laugh a little, like it was a bit of a joke, before turning back to Harry, "You'll soon find out some wizards are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there," he shoved his hand further for Harry to shake.

Harry glared at him immediately, "I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," Harry responded thinly.

Draco looked furious, a pink tint coloring his cheeks. Before he could respond, I decided to have my fun with him.

"Nice hair," I commented lightly, smirking at the boy, "What you do, sit in the sun for too long?"

Everyone behind me burst into giggles and Draco looked even more furious than before.

"You'd better be careful what you say, or…" Draco began in a dangerous voice.

"Or what? Some powerful person you happen to know will come to save your scrawny arse?" I teased, "Oh, daddy, this girl at school, she hexed me and now I can't count to four anymore, and I was almost ready to count to five!" I mimicked in a high pitched voice.

"Why you-" Draco shouted, but the doors to the Great Hall opened and he immediately rejoined the group of first years. Harry subtly held his hand out for me to high five, which I took gladly.

"Now, all of you form a line, and follow me," Professor McGonagall ordered. I lead the way, Harry following behind me, Hermione behind him, and Neville behind her. I couldn't believe that I was at the front of the line and I felt like everyone's eyes were on me, and I was terrified.

The Great Hall was lit by thousands upon thousands of candles just hanging in midair, and there were four long tables where each of the students were sitting. There was a fifth table at the other end of the hall were the professors were sitting, and I immediately recognized Dumbledore and Snape, Sprout and Flitwick, and Hagrid from afar. We came to a halt up to the teacher's table, the ceiling of the Hall was dark and dotted with stars, like the sky outside.

"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts, a History_," Hermione whispered to me. I nodded in amazement.

Professor McGonagall placed on a four legged stool in front of us a pointed, very old and dirty wizard's hat. Wondering what we could possibly have to do with it, I jumped back in shock as the hat opened it's brim and began to _sing. SING!_

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.  
You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folk use any means  
To achieve their ends.  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!" _

The whole hall burst into applause and I felt waves of relief wash over me. So we only had to put on a hat? Most excellent. This wouldn't be too hard at all.

Harry, however, looked rather sick and nervous. I gently rubbed his shoulder and he smiled at me in thanks as we waited patiently there. Neville also looked rather sick, so I reached out and patted his shoulder awkwardly. Neville blushed but smiled at me in thanks. Hermione simply couldn't stop bouncing on her toes.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," Professor McGonagall declared before beginning with, "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink faced girl with blond pig tails came out of the crowd and smashed the hat over her head, and after a pause the hat shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!" The table on the right of the hall cheered as she went to joint hem.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The second table from the left clapped this time, a sea of blue, and shook Terry's hand.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Brown, Lavender!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

This time the table on the far left clapped and cheered as Lavender, a short pale girl with very curly dirty brown hair, went to joint hem.

"Bulstrode, Millicent!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

The final table, the one second from the right, burst into cheers. I couldn't help but think they all looked… well, very mean.

"Corner, Michael!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Crabbe, Vincent!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Dougherty, Renee!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Eckles, Mia!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

I felt rather dazed and extremely nervous, realizing exactly how long it would be before _J_ came into conversation.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Finnegan, Seamus!"

"GRYFFINDOR!" The boy was the short one with the dark hair who had had the most trouble not laughing at Hermione in the compartment on the train. I scowled a little but regained my composure.

"Goldstein, Anthony!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Goyle, Gregory!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"No surprises there," Harry muttered in my ear. I giggled a little, but felt rather guilty.

"Mum was in Slytherin," I reminded quietly.

"Your mum is a different breed of person altogether," Harry laughed.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione looked terrified as she walked up to the stool and put the hat on her head. It took a very long time to decide, indeed; Hermione looked the most nervous I had seen her that day as she waited there. Finally…

"GRYFFINDOR!"

I beamed at her as she ran off to her table. I admit, I had been expecting Ravenclaw for the brainy girl.

"Henderson, Kelly!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

_Crap… J… _I thought in terror, realizing no one would have a last name that started with I, well, probably not…

"Jacobs, Carl!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

I swallowed and felt my heart leap up into my chest.

"Johnson, Margaret!"

I swallowed again and walked up to the stool, shaking from my head to my toes as I sat on it and shoved the hat on my head.

"Aha!" a small voice declared in my ear. I felt myself swallow a third time in response as the voice continued, "Yes, yes, you are a rebel, aren't you? Fearless… reckless… Not stupid, either, yes you do indeed have a good mind here… Very very brave, though, most of all… And loyal, very loyal to your family… to your friends… You really will do anything for them I see… No regard for rules or authority, you're very stubborn, I can see… well… I suppose the best fit for you has got to be… yes… yes, it really is GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted at the top of its lungs.

Immediately I felt a large smile overtake my face as I ran down to the table to sit next to Hermione, trying my hardest to not just _skip_. She beamed at me and we both turned to watch the rest of the sorting. I eagerly awaited Harry's placement, after all.

"Jones, Ashley!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Lee, Sam!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Lewis, Lauren!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Longbottom, Neville!"

Neville walked up, shaking again, and I prayed for him that he'd be put where he wanted to be. The hat took a very long time for him, too- of similar length as Hermione. But eventually it opened its brim and shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Neville came off the stool still wearing it and had to return to put it back before coming down to sit across from me and Hermione. We both grinned at him and he smiled weakly back as we turned our attention back to the group.

"Macmillan, Ernie!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Malfoy, Draco!"

I smirked slightly as he put the hat on his head and was instantly sorted into "SLYTHERIN!"

"Mills, Frank!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Nott, Theodore!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"O'Rourke, Siobhan!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The girl, who had long black hair and a weak smile, came over to join us all and Lavender and Seamus. She smiled at us shyly as we continued to watch the sorting. I was anxious now, the P's were rapidly approaching.

"Olson, James!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Parkinson, Pansy!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Patil, Padma!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Patil, Parvati!"

"GRYFFINDOR!" I was amazed that the other identical, Indian looking girl was not in the same house as her sister as she came and sat with Siobhan.

"Perks, Sally-Ann!'

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

I braced myself on Harry's behalf as McGonagall called out, "Potter, Harry!"

The hall erupted into murmurs and gasps and I grimaced in sympathy for him. He must have been mortified- I knew my brother and I knew he just wanted to get up there and get sorted. He walked up to the stool and sat with the hat on his head, for yet another long period of time. Finally, the hat opened its brim and shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

I stood on my feet and cheered as loud as the rest of them as he came over and sat next to me. I immediately gave him a hug and he returned it, looking simply relieved, though I could also see a flash of trouble behind his eyes. I knew I'd have to ask about that later.

The rest of the sorting passed without much incident; Thomas, Dean also joined us in Gryffindor, then Turpin, Lisa went off to Ravenclaw. Ursine, Amy went to Hufflepuff, and Walters, Nick joined her there. Weasley, Ron- the red-headed boy who also looked amused with Hermione's very life when we had come by- was sorted into Gryffindor, to my dismay. Finally, Young, Sarah and Zabini, Blaise went to Slytherin, and McGonagall took the hat away.

Professor Dumbledore got to his feet and greeted us all, but finishing up with, "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

He sat down and suddenly food filled up all the tables. I looked to Harry in excitement and began to eat my favorites, realizing that I really was going to like this place, indeed.

AN: So until I go back to school, I plan on updating this story at least once a day, except for July 27-29 when I'm on vacation. Also, when I go back to school I hope (HOPE) to update once a week, I'll try at the very least but I'm taking a lot of lab sciences (three!) on top of my two lab research positions. Anyway, I plan on using some of my free time to update. If once a week doesn't work I'll let you know the new schedule. But expect an update every day this summer unless I realize some of my plans will take me away from my computer all day, in which case I will also let you know ahead of time. Maybe some regularity will help with my reviewer-base.

Sorry for the quote-filled chapter; but that was the nature of this one. They won't all be like this, otherwise there wouldn't be a point to this story. In fact they will be very rare.

Shout outs to bones 25, TA-twinArmageddons, Ami-Saphira, and JMLuna for favoriting/following this story! I'm glad you guys like it and I hope you'll do me the pleasure of dropping a review. On that note, thanks to TA-twinArmageddons for leaving me a review :)

Please review guys! They're a writer's bread and butter in the end.


	4. Ch 3: September 26 1991, Hogwarts

Chapter Three: September 2-6 1991, Hogwarts

Hogwarts was, by far, one of the most amazing places I had ever been to. I know I hadn't been to a lot of places so my statement didn't count for very much, but I stand by it to this day.

I got lost frequently, but I had always loved exploring; I didn't really understand the subject matter at first, but I had always loved figuring things out; there were a lot of new people I didn't recognize, but I felt like I had been finally let free, and of course Harry and I, being in the same house and the same year, had all of our classes together. I was never without my best friend.

By the first day I was already rubbing adults the wrong way, which I thought was a triumph. As we ascended the staircase- once it had decided which way to go- to attend our first ever class, Herbology, we ran into Argus Filch, the caretaker. I had accidentally tripped over his cat, Mrs. Norris.

"How dare you hurt my cat?" Filch demanded in a gravelly, irritated voice, "All you hooligan children always trying to sabotage us…"

"It was an accident," I snapped back, "I was too busy looking to see how to get to class to notice your meddling feline."

"Why you little…" Filch snapped.

"Leave the girl alone, Argus," a smooth, disdainful voice sounded. Harry and I looked in unison, my side braids unfortunately whipping into his cheek, to see Professor Snape standing at the head of the stairs.

"The cat is fine, you are fine, the girl is fine. There is no need to dwell on it," Professor Snape stated dully, over pronouncing all his words.

"Fine," Filch responded, but I could tell he wasn't done with me yet. I grimaced a little and turned to thank the Professor, but in that moment he was gone. Harry and I looked at each other, shrugged, and hurried off to class.

Herbology was one of my favorite classes; I deeply enjoyed standing in the greenhouses, repotting plants and finding out what they were all used for. I loved getting my hands dirty in the earth and I loved the feeling of being connected to the livelihood of the plants.

Neville seemed to enjoy that class a lot too, and we would often marvel together over the littlest things- the shape of the plant leaf, the greenness of the stem, the way the plant would squirt out pus at the slightest touch. Our marveling even annoyed Hermione Granger, who was very much a learner by learning and not by doing- she would go through the lesson as quickly as possible, answering questions perfectly and clearly having total recall, but she didn't _know_ the plants. Harry was, more likely than not, a little bored most of the time- he only got really into it when we worked with plants that did more than just sit there.

He had made a new friend, though I still didn't like him much due to his treatment of Hermione- the red headed boy, Ron Weasley. Ron was even more bored in Herbology than Harry was, not even getting excited about the active plants. This alone made me annoyed with him and I didn't really interact with him more than I had to, talking to Neville and Hermione instead.

Charms class was alright- the little Professor Flitwick, who seemed amazed that Harry was even at Hogwarts at all, was kind of hard for me to understand. We didn't start magic in that class write away, but took a lot of notes on proper wand waving and pronunciation. Needless to say, this more patient form of learning bored me; I understood immediately how to do all these things and I didn't understand the point of dwelling on it. Hermione, of course, ate it all up, and she was easily the most excited person in that class. Harry and I shared boredom there, and Neville simply looked nervous about performing well at all. Ron would sit with Seamus and Dean in that class, seeming unable to handle Hermione in such a close proximity.

When we returned to the Common Room one afternoon and sat down to work on our homework, Harry turned to me incredulously.

"Why do you keep her around? And him?" he asked quietly, barely over a whisper in case they came by.

"Because I like them," I responded equally quietly, "I like Hermione. She might be pretty bossy and know-it-all-y, but she's nice and she's clever and she's friendly."

"She's very… much a rule follower. I thought that of all things would…" Harry muttered.

"Maybe we need one around so we don't get expelled. I thought you were warming up to her?" I responded in annoyance.

"I am, it's just…" Harry paused, looking awkward.

"Weasley again?" I sighed, "You know how I feel about him. Yes, Hermione is overwhelming. But that didn't give him a right to laugh at him."

"I know, it's just… I dunno, it's nice to have a guy friend, that's all," Harry sighed, "And we get along really well."

"I understand," I sat back and opened my Herbology book, "That doesn't mean I have to like him."

"No, it doesn't. Does your liking Hermione mean I have to like her?" Harry responded with fervor.

"No…" I sighed, "But that's the thing, you haven't given her a chance…"

"You haven't given Ron a chance!" Harry retorted.

"I have too! He was rude to Neville again in Herbology!" I snapped. Harry sighed as I continued, "And Hermione hasn't actually been rude to either of us."

"You're right," Harry finally accepted, "I'll keep trying."

"That's all I ask," I sighed, "I'm sorry, Ron just rubs me the wrong way. And you and Hermione have your moments."

"You're right, we do. I guess Ron just influences me by complaining about her all the time. I can't lie and say she doesn't get annoying, but she is a nice girl and we can be friendly. I'm sorry, I'll try harder," Harry admitted.

"You can stay friends with Ron, just… don't change into someone like him," I asked calmly.

"What d'you mean?" Harry asked curiously.

"I mean just… you're a very sensitive, caring person, Harry," I explained calmly, "That's not a weakness, that's a strength. And Ron… can be very _insensitive_. So just… don't forget that."

"Alright," Harry smiled reassuringly.

We sat there and worked on homework for a while before Harry finally spoke up again.

"What about Neville?" he asked curiously.

"What about him?" I responded, flipping through the pages of my textbook and scratching on the parchment with my quill.

"I mean, why do you keep him around?" Harry sighed, "He doesn't seem like the kind of person you'd get along with…"

"That's where you're wrong," I looked up, "I get along with him a lot. He's sensitive, like you. And he's nice. And, well…"

"You feel sorry for him?" Harry suggested.

"Yeah," I responded with a sigh, "But if I like him, why shouldn't I be friends with him?"

"No reason," Harry smiled a little, "I don't mind him much either, to be honest. Ron just…"

"Makes fun of him?" I asked calmly, "Please, stop listening to what Ron says."

Harry nodded and we returned to our work.

A class I could not pay attention in, period, was History of Magic, taught by the great ghost Professor Binns. As he continued on and on, teaching about all these things that had happened so many many years ago to people I didn't know (nor particularly care about,) I found my head repeatedly drooping towards the desk, threatening to land there and stay forever. Harry was equally bad, his quill making lazy loops along the parchment. Neville looked much too scared to not pay attention, but he wrote with very little zeal. Hermione was the only one who actually knew what she was doing and who could keep awake. Ron actually fell asleep.

On Wednesday at midnight we had to go up to the astronomy tower to observe the night sky and learning the way the planets moved and the stars aligned. They were too distant from me for me to have much interest, but I carried on anyway.

"Harry, I think I might need glasses too," I groaned one evening as we peered through our telescopes.

"Why?" Harry asked curiously.

"I can't see anything in this bloody telescope," I hissed in annoyance.

"That's because you're looking in it wrong," Hermione scolded, helping me orient the telescope, "Better?"

"Much," I sighed, somewhat embarrassed by the entire proceedings. Hermione smiled at me in reassurance, however, and we continued on with the class.

Transfiguration, however, was by far my most favorite class. Professor McGonagall began it sternly, starting the class out with, "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Professor McGonagall then transfigured her desk into a pig and back again. I looked at the transformation with wide, amazed eyes. I wanted to be able to do that- to see something and change it from something I didn't want there, to something I wanted there. I wanted to have that power over my surroundings.

Of course, it couldn't be that simple, and we spent most of the first class (and all the classes after that) taking extensive, complex notes. I didn't get bored, however, because they actually required me to think, unlike my charms notes. As I scribbled them down, I frowned at the chalkboard, trying to work out their meanings in my head before Professor McGonagall, forcing me to pay attention and keep my mind alert.

We then were given each a match that we were supposed to turn into a needle. We needed to focus on the composition of the mass, the composition of the needle, and the process of turning one into the other. I frowned, amazed at this manipulation, and set to work.

By the end of the class, I had managed to get my match to look silver and pointy. Only Hermione had also done the same, and Professor McGonagall showed our handiwork off to the class with a small smile. I beamed, bouncing in my seat. Harry looked down at his still-a-match in sadness, and Neville had only managed to not break his in half.

"Aww, Harry, you'll figure it out," I reassured as we all four walked through the corridors together after the lesson, "You too, Neville."

"I just don't understand it at all," Neville sighed.

"I can help you out," Hermione offered, "It won't be any trouble."

"I just need to go over it some more, then I'll get it," Harry muttered firmly, determinedly. I smiled and nodded at him in encouragement.

Defense Against the Dark Arts turned out to be a complete joke. Our professor, Professor Quirrell, couldn't stop stuttering and seemed afraid of everything and everyone around him. He wore a giant purple turban and matching robes. I couldn't help but think I had never learned anything about defensive magic but even I would be able to stand up to some creepy evil wizard or dangerous monster better than he could. The entire classroom smelled of garlic and his turban had a kind of funny smell.

"Must be the reaction between the garlic and the fabric of the turban," I commented lightly, "Maybe they just don't mix long-term."

"You'd think they could find a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who wasn't afraid of his own students," Harry furthered as we managed to avoid getting trapped on a stairwell.

The last day of the week, Friday, we came down to the table for breakfast, both panting and out of breath. I had managed to, in the process of waving my wand in practice for charms on the way down, somehow turn Mrs. Norris' hair a light shade of yellow. Filch hadn't been around, but we left as quickly as we could anyway, terrified of repercussions.

"What do we have today?" Harry panted as I collapsed dramatically on the table, reaching for a glass of pumpkin juice with vigor.

"Double Potions with the Slytherins. Should be…" Hermione paused, clearly trying to find the right word.

"Interesting?" I offered, grabbing a piece of toast and ripping a chunk off with my teeth.

"Yes, that," Hermione looked at me in mild disgust and I bowed in appreciation. Harry looked up at the teacher's table for a moment and then looked back at me.

"Want to visit Hagrid? We don't see him during the week and I rather liked him at my birthday party," Harry asked.

"Oh why not," I grinned, "We have some time this afternoon. Oh, speaking of birthdays, mum sent something for you with my present, but you weren't at breakfast on Monday."

"You wait to tell me this until now? And I'm sorry that I got lost… like you have plenty of times I might add," Harry laughed.

"It slipped my mind until you mentioned birthdays. And Monday was so crazy I barely could tell it was mine… not sure if I'm going to like having it be the second day of term," I sighed as I pulled out the little package from my bag. Harry opened it and found a new watch, which he gleefully put on- I remembered vaguely that his had broken when we had gone swimming the last week of summer, I had pushed him in and he still had the ruddy thing on.

"What did you get for your birthday anyway?" Harry asked curiously.

"More books on Transfiguration- you should be proud, Hermione. Also, a letter from my sister congratulating me for not getting expelled the moment I entered the doors. They promised my favorite dinner when we come home for the Christmas holidays," I explained, "We should get to Potions. Wouldn't want to irritate Professor Snape."

"Why? He stood up for you to Filch," Harry asked as we got up and started walking, Hermione and Neville following behind us.

"Well… he didn't seem to like you much, did he?" I asked calmly as we walked down to the dungeons and entered the correct room. It was freezing down here, but being from near Braemar – one of the coldest places in Britain – it didn't affect me very much at all. Harry seemed similarly comfortable. There were millions of jars everywhere containing questionable items. I stared up at the front of the class as Professor Snape entered, ignoring the dirty glares I got from a certain Draco Malfoy.

Professor Snape began the class by taking roll call, and went through my name quite fluidly. It was Harry's name he felt the need to stop at.

"Ah, yes. Harry Potter. Our new… _celebrity_."

Snape continued despite Draco Malfoy and his cronies' laughing. I turned around to glare at them across the classroom. Draco smirked at me and shrugged. I sneered a little more and turned back to face Snape.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," Snape stood at the front of the classroom, talking in a calm, quiet voice, "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of a softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Hermione was very keen, leaning forward in her seat. Harry looked apprehensive, as did Neville. I slumped in my seat, trying to look bored on purpose.

"Potter!" Snape suddenly shouted. I looked between the two of them with wide, amazed eyes as he continued, "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

I looked as Harry clearly wracked his brains and had no idea. He appropriately said, "I don't know, sir," as Hermione shot her hand into the air and I twirled my stirring stick between my fingers.

"Tut, tut. Fame clearly isn't everything," Professor Snape sneered before continuing, "Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

I scowled at the teacher as Hermione's hand shot in the air again. Who could _possibly_ know this ahead of time? True, I hadn't read the potions book as much as I had the transfiguration one, but who would actually _remember_ that? Well, except Hermione.

"I don't know, sir," Harry stated calmly. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle were sniggering. I scowled again, feeling my eyes narrow. I pulled out my wand very, very secretly and pointed it at them from under the desk. Crabbe and Goyle didn't notice, but Draco did, and he looked at it in fright. He probably assumed I knew some sort of curse to throw at them. I was glad he didn't know that I didn't have a _clue_. He immediately stopped sniggering and punched both Crabbe and Goyle to shut up as well. I smirked in satisfaction and turned back to face Snape, whom I was beginning to dislike immensely indeed.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"

I glared at him now. Of _course_ we had read. I raised my hand in the air incredulously. Snape looked over at me for a moment, as though about to answer me. I knew he wouldn't, if he hadn't given Hermione the time of day.

But then he did.

"Yes, Miss Johnson?" Snape sneered at me, now, but not nearly as menacingly. It bothered me to no end how _clearly_ he hated Harry above everyone else.

"Actually, Professor Snape, Harry _did_ open a book before coming here. I was with him, we read all sorts of our textbooks because we were so excited to learn about magic. However, I don't think anyone other than Miss Genius here," I pointed my thumb over at Hermione, "Would actually remember every little thing they read in their books. Sometimes details are slipped, and anyone with a common sense of fairness would know that."

The class hushed, dead silent, clearly terrified to see what happened next. I just sat back in my seat, looking at Snape challengingly.

Snape's eyes and expression narrowed even more as he answered, "See me in my office, after class."

"Don't do the crime if you can't do the time," I responded calmly.

The class began muttering again and I rolled my eyes at this. Harry looked over at me in fear, probably expecting me to get expelled.

"For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. And a bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most potions. You should _all be copying this down._ Now, Miss Johnson," he turned to me, "Can you explain the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"No idea," I responded promptly, "Sorry."

"They are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Copy this down as well," Snape ordered, turning around with his cape flowing rapidly behind him like a bat.

Hermione, Harry and Neville were all still staring at me as if I was about to pass away. I rolled my eyes at all of them in annoyance.

"Also, fifteen points from Gryffindor for your cheek, Miss Johnson," Professor Snape added as he started writing on the chalk board, _A Cure for Boils_. I shrugged, amused that he would add on more punishments, as we all worked to weigh nettles and crush snake fangs. He criticized everyone, except for, interestingly, me and Malfoy. Even Hermione's potion got a slight criticism that the shade was not exactly the right shade of green. But mine, which was clearly much worse, he just passed by.

_Well, crap_, I thought in annoyance. He probably wasn't wasting his time because I _was_ going to get expelled. Harry, Neville and Hermione seemed to agree, as they continued to look at me like I was the walking dead.

Neville accidentally melted his cauldron in the next moment, causing the potion to fall to the floor and seep across the stone floor, burning holes in shoes. Mine were already rather frayed, but even I jumped up on my stool as Neville writhed in agony over the pain the potion caused. I felt horrible for him and wanted to get to him to help, but didn't know how to do so from the stools. I seriously considered leaping across desks.

"Idiot boy!" Snape snarled, "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville was in clearly too much pain to answer.

"You, take him up to the hospital wing," Snape directed at Hermione, who had been working next to him. She helped him up and lead him upstairs when Snape rounded on Harry, who had been on his other side.

"You – Potter – why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? A point from Gryffindor."

Harry looked at him in amazement and I wanted to argue until the cows came home when I realized I would get into even more trouble as I continued to be cheeky.

The class ended and I walked over to the office, waving at Harry in farewell as I went through the door. Professor Snape had just sat down and looked up at me with a bit less annoyance as I sat down at his desk. I had half a mind to put my shoes on his desk but thought the better of it.

He studied me for a moment before stating, "Have a biscuit, Miss Johnson."

I looked at him in shock and leaned forward in my chair, "What?"

"You heard me," he reached into his desk and pulled out a tin of biscuits, the kind with chocolate in them, "Have one."

"You're not trying to poison me, are you?" I asked in confusion.

"No," he snapped, "Take one before I change my mind."

I took one cautiously, biting down and finding it was disgusting.

"Why are you giving me a biscuit for mouthing off to you?" I asked calmly.

"I've already taken points off you. This is me making it look like I'm madder at you than I am," Professor Snape explained.

"I am extraordinarily confused," I frowned at him as I finished off the biscuit.

"I owe your mother approximately one million favors, by her count," Snape continued calmly, "We were friends at Hogwarts ourselves… and she reminded this to me in a letter when she found out you were sorted into Gryffindor."

"So…?" I looked at him incredulously.

"So, she asked me to treat you like I would a Slytherin, and not one of… your house," Snape finished, "Because I owe her one million favors. However, I'd rather no one knew about it."

"Why do you owe her one million favors?" I asked curiously.

"That is a story for another day," Snape snapped, "Just know that… well, I cared about your mother very much and I did some… very horrible things to her that she never thought she could forgive me for. But she did, and now I owe her for those things."

I stared at him in annoyance for his cryptic reply before stating, "Why do you treat Harry so horribly?"

"Because his father and I were enemies during school, and he looks so much like his father that… well, I can't help it," Snape responded angrily, "Do not push the issue."

"I can't help but stick up for my brother when he's being picked on by a bully," I snapped back.

Snape scowled, "Fine. But I won't stop either."

"Fine. So we're at an impasse," I raised my eyebrows, "I get fifteen points off every time and a biscuit, turns out."

"Seems so," Snape responded in a similar fashion. We sat there for a few more moments.

"I had been hoping you'd be in my house," Snape sighed after a while, "You are so like your mother."

"I'm like my mother how she is now," I responded calmly, "After all that nonsense with Voldemort."

"Don't speak his name," Snape scowled.

"Anywho, she told me herself she changed a lot after that. So I'm not like her when she was actually _in_ Slytherin, at least, not that much," I shrugged.

Snape studied me for a moment before replying, "I suppose you have a point. Well, you may go now. I expect your… friends… are terrified they'll never see you again."

"I suppose they are," I responded calmly, getting up and leaving to the Common Room, where I expected Harry would be.

He was shocked to find me still a student- as were Hermione and Neville, not to mention Ron, Seamus, Dean, and the other Gryffindors. I could imagine the shock and anger on Draco's face when I saw him. I didn't tell anyone about Snape's promise to my mother, however, keeping his secret for him despite my misgivings. We left to go visit with Hagrid down at the hut on the grounds, where we knew him to live. He was very pleased and surprised to see us, giving us some tea and talking to us about our week. I couldn't help but notice, though, an article from a newspaper on his table about a break in at Gringotts, the giant wizard bank we had been to when we had visited Diagon Alley.

I looked at the article and picked up the paper from his desk, reading about how the vault had been emptied that very day, so nothing had been taken from it. I looked up at Hagrid in curiosity, but decided the better of asking questions and put the article back down.

Harry and I left, and I explained the mystery to Harry, who looked just as curious.

"I thought Gringotts couldn't be broken into? At least, not well?" Harry asked, clearly thinking hard on the subject.

"I did too," I responded, "But I guess not. Wonder what was in the vault when it was emptied?"

Harry continued to think, "It was emptied on my birthday, yes? That's the day of the break-in."

"Yeah, said so in the article," I agreed, nodding as we walked up to the castle. Harry suddenly turned and looked at me in shock.

"Hagrid had been talking at my party- I overheard him! Said he went and got some sort of item from Gringotts for Dumbledore, he even said he emptied a vault!" Harry gasped.

I remembered in that instant what Harry was referencing- after all, Hagrid wasn't known for having a soft voice.

"That's right! Some sort of stone! Didn't catch the name though," I frowned, looking back down at Hagrid's hut, "D' you think Hermione would know?"

"Maybe," Harry paused, "But… I dunno if I want to ask about it."

"Why?" I asked in amazement, "You're always the one who wants to go on adventures and solve mysteries. Heck, you _make up _the mysteries when we're particularly bored."

"Yeah, but… well, let's just say I don't want Hermione to think we're up to no good," Harry sighed as we reentered the castle and started walking towards the Common Room.

"Oh?" I asked in confusion as we reached the room.

"She might have given me an earful about you mouthing off to Snape while we waited for you to get back," Harry admitted mournfully. I laughed and patted him on the back as we entered, amused beyond belief at my first week of school.

AN: For those of you slightly confused, because Melinda went to school with Snape (well, two years older but at the same time still,) Snape's childhood wasn't exactly the same. The mystery is of course eventually solved but for those of you who want to know now, you can basically figure it out from my other story, Hand Magic. Anywho, because of this he favors Maggie a little, but still hates all the Gryffindors and Harry especially, of course.

Shout-Outs to Viola Potterhead Girl, PontyBoy, DreamCatcher1991, and SUZITROUBLE for following/favoriting my story- I'm glad you guys like it enough to keep up with it! In a similar vein, thanks again to DreamCatcher1991 for dropping me a review, and also to TA-twinArmageddons for reviewing my other story, Hand Magic (which was an exceedingly wonderful review that made me feel suffering through the end of that story was worth it (not a lot of reviews)).

Please review guys! They make the writing experience more enjoyable. Also, I want to know what all of you guys favoriting/following this story think! I'm really curious.

Things pick up in the next chapter guys, so stay tuned! I'll be updating it really early because I'll be gone all day at the Zoo with some friends. How I got roped into this I am not sure, but as a biology major I can't pass up an opportunity for fun with living creatures. Not going to lie, I'm hoping to see some penguins.

Review!


	5. Ch 4: September 7 – October 31st, 1991

Chapter Four: September 7 – October 31st, 1991, Hogwarts

Draco Malfoy had indeed been displeased that I was still a student of Hogwarts the next day at dinner. I smiled at him from across the hall cheekily, raising my hand and waving it cheerfully. He scowled and looked away from me, but I felt right pleased with myself.

The next week of school passed without much further incident, though I continued to keep up with Hermione in Transfiguration. Harry was continuously bullied by Snape, but I managed to not actually say anything lippy this time. I did manage to glare a little in his direction.

But that Thursday, we received an announcement that sent us all into frenzies- flying lessons would start that day, with the Slytherins (of call people). Harry immediately got extraordinarily excited. Neville and Hermione were less enthused, and I was apprehensive over the whole affair. Due to this, Harry spent even more time with Ron, who was equally excited for the prospect.

During breakfast, the mail came as per usual. Harry got a letter from Hagrid inviting us down again, and I got a letter from my parents asking how school was going. Neville, however, got a small little ball filled with white smoke.

"It's a Remembrall," Neville explained, "Gran knows I forget things – this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red – oh…" the Remembrall turned bright red as he held it, "… you've forgotten something…"

We all laughed a little at the situation as Neville sighed, "The trouble is, I can't remember what I've forgotten."

Draco Malfoy walked by the Gryffindor table and made a move as if to grab the Remembrall out of his hands. As he did so, I slapped his hand very hard, and he jerked it back in shock.

"Why you little-" Draco sneered.

"What's going on?" Professor McGonagall, who had seen the proceedings, asked as she walked up to us.

"Just giving Draco a friendly high five is all, Professor," I explained smoothly.

Malfoy opened his mouth as though to argue but seemed to think the better of it, realizing that the Gryffindors would all stick up for me if it came to a test of credibility. He smiled thinly and nodded in agreement, and Professor McGonagall walked away fluidly.

"I'll get you for this, Johnson," Malfoy sneered.

"Sure you will," I commented lightly, waving him off as though his threats meant nothing at all.

We all headed out to the fields, and it was such a warm day that I rolled up my sleeves and completely unbuttoned my tie. Hermione looked at me in disapproval and I realized why I needed both her and Harry to survive at this school. Harry was busy talking to Ron in front of us, obviously ignoring our exchange as we got onto the field.

Madam Hooch was a spiky haired woman who was clearly athletic and not deteriorating due to age. We all gave her our complete attention, standing next too scraggly, old brooms that were clearly the worse for wear after years of being abused by untrained first years. We all watched her expectantly. Harry was next to me, still bouncing on his heels a little with excitement. I looked at him in amusement and he beamed right back at me.

"Today we'll begin your first flying lesson," Madam Hooch began calmly, "On my whistle, you'll put your dominant hand over the broom, and say Up." She then blew her whistle and I put my right hand over the broom, frowning, and joined the chorus of "Up's!"

Harry's broom jumped right into his hand. Hermione's rolled angrily down at the ground below her. Neville's simply stayed put. Draco's went into his hand pretty quickly, and I remembered vaguely all the bragging he had done about his Quidditch skills. Mine came into my hand rather reluctantly, and it felt stiff and artificial in my hands. Ron's broom smashed into his face and I had trouble not bursting into laughter.

"Now that you have your broom," Madam Hooch continued, even though Neville still didn't have his, "I want you to mount it. Now grip it tight, don't want you sliding off the end." She explained, in a rather irritated voice, to Malfoy that he'd been doing it wrong his whole life. I laughed in glee at that on my own broomstick, though it felt rather artificial and… wrong. Much too… well, stick like.

"On my whistle, you'll push off from the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle – three – two –"

Neville was clearly terrified, however, and he leapt up into air and kept climbing and climbing and climbing, clearly terrified. I looked up in fear, wanting to take off on this strange contraption to get him, but before I could he slipped off his broom and he fell – SMACK – facedown in the grass.

Madam Hooch ran over, clearly as terrified as Neville, and she examined him quickly, muttering about a broken wrist and helping him off of the ground.

"None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear." Madam Hooch lead Neville off the grounds as he cried, and I wanted to reach out to him but I held myself back. However, Malfoy immediately began laughing at him the moment they were gone.

"Did you see his face, the great lump?"

I turned on my heels to glare at him as the Slytherins all started laughing with him.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Parvati Patil scowled.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" Pansy Parkinson sneered, laughing, "Never thought _you'd_ like fat little cry-babies, Parvati."

I walked up to Parkinson angrily, my fists clenched at my sides.

"What you gonna do, Johnson?" Parkinson barked with laughter in my face, "Make empty threats that you can't follow up on?"

"C'mon Maggie," Hermione called, "She's not worth it."

I glared at Parkinson in anger and stepped back, unclenching my fists.

"Look!" Malfoy suddenly cried, taking the attention away from the situation, "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him." The Remembrall was brilliant in the sunlight.

"Give it here, Malfoy," Harry suddenly interjected, his voice quieter and more deadly sounding than I had ever heard it. It even frightened me a little bit.

It didn't frighten Malfoy.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find… like a tree," he grinned evilly.

"Give it here!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and flew out to the sky. Malfoy shouted out, "Come and get it, Potter!"

Harry ran over to grab his broom, despite Hermione's protests. In fact, the only expression of approval he needed was mine. He looked over at me and I gave him a small nod and he took off into the air.

I was amazed at how extraordinarily at home he looked up there, turning elegantly and swooping calmly through the air. Siobhan, Parvati, and Lavender gasped in admiration. Hermione looked begrudgingly amazed. Ron, Seamus and Dean all whooped in admiration. I beamed slightly and I couldn't help but cheer at the top of my lungs, "GO HARRY!"

Harry faced Malfoy in midair and we could hear him shout, "Give it here, or I'll knock you off that broom!"

"Yeah?" Malfoy responded. He sounded much less confident than he had before. Harry leaned forward and zoomed almost straight into Malfoy, who got out of the way just in time. It shocked me how quickly Harry was learning how to fly.

"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry shouted.

"Catch it if you can, then!" Malfoy replied, throwing the Remembrall high into the air and then streaking back to the ground towards us. He smirked at me as he walked over and I felt my eyes narrow again as a plan quickly formed in my head.

Meanwhile, Harry had managed to fly extraordinarily fast on that rickety broom; he zoomed forward and somehow managed to crab the Remembrall just as he landed to the ground near us. He walked over to us, all the Gryffindors (even, to some extent, Hermione) cheering and jumping up and down.

"Harry, can I see that?" I asked, beaming at him with pride. He beamed back and threw the Remembrall to me. I walked up to Malfoy, holding it in my hand. To my luck, it turned red in my grasp. I decided I'd worry about what I had forgotten later.

"Hey Malfoy," I sneered, looking at him in hatred. Malfoy looked back at me challengingly.

"Looks like I've forgotten something… hmm…" I paused, frowning down at the Remembrall, "Oh yeah!"

I then stepped back, raised my arm, and punched Malfoy as hard in the face as I could. The cracking sound my fist made with his nose was amazingly satisfying. He fell back with a cry of pain, clutching his bleeding nose.

"HARRY POTTER! MAGGIE JOHNSON!"

I turned around on my heel to see Professor McGonagall walking over to us in shock and amazement. Harry looked terrified but I stood my ground over the whimpering, bleeding Malfoy.

"Detention, Miss Johnson," Professor McGonagall gasped, "And twenty points from Gryffindor for fist-fighting. Miss Parkinson, you will escort Mr. Malfoy up to the hospital wing. Mr. Malfoy, detention for you as well and twenty points from Slytherin for flying without the aid of an instructor and blatantly stealing another student's property."

Malfoy opened up his mouth to whine but I turned to him and glared at him, clenching my fist again. Malfoy seemed terrified at the mere threat and didn't say anything.

"Potter, with me," Professor McGonagall ordered. Harry followed her with his head down and I feared for him, wondering why he hadn't gotten the same punishment as me and Malfoy. Malfoy and Parkinson followed hurriedly behind him.

Hermione turned and walked up to me, "That was a very reckless thing to do, Maggie."

I shrugged, "He had it coming and you _know_ it. Neville has enough trouble at school without him making his life miserable."

Hermione smiled a little, "Well, that's true. And if you're not scared of getting detention well…"

I beamed and Ron suddenly interjected – the first words he had ever said to me – with "Then it's brilliant."

I managed a slight smile at him and bowed for the benefit of my classmates. Eventually, Madam Hooch returned, looking frazzled. I don't know whether she heard of the entire proceedings, but the moment she came back on the field she stood in front of us in irritation.

"Today's flying lesson is over. I expect to see you all again in two weeks where we can hopefully have a much less… disastrous… class," Madam Hooch declared. We all nodded and left in a hurry, I making my way up to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Inside was Neville, who still looked upset, with a small amount of wrapping around his wrist as he sat there reading a book on Herbology. I walked up to him and sat down across from him at the table.

"I made a complete fool of myself," Neville sighed softly, not looking up from his book.

"It's alright. We all have days when we make complete fools of ourselves," I responded calmly. Neville looked up in shock at my tone.

"You're not going to make fun of me?" Neville asked in shock. I smiled.

"Why would I make fun of you? I would like to say, however, before anyone else does, that Harry and I defended you," I declared.

"Defended me?" Neville looked at me in confusion.

"Well, Malfoy made fun of you, of course. He stole your Remembrall- that reminds me," I took it out of my pocket and handed it to him, "And took off with it, flying to go hide it somewhere. Well, Harry chased it down and got it back and I… may or may not have broken Malfoy's nose," I shrugged offhandedly.

"You… you what?" Neville gasped breathlessly.

"Yep, punched him in the face I did," I beamed.

"Wow… erm… thanks," Neville laughed weakly.

"No problem," I replied with a smile before turning back to my books. I felt a slight flush in my cheeks as I read the Herbology chapter for the next day.

At dinner, Harry came back and sat with me and Hermione. Neville was nowhere to be seen, as he had left to go to the library for another book before I had gone downstairs for dinner.

"Well? What did Professor McGonagall say?" I asked curiously as he sat across from me and took some mashed potatoes.

"Well… You know about Quidditch yeah?" Harry asked as we sat there. Hermione and I both nodded curiously as we sat there.

"Well… she has me as the Gryffindor seeker," Harry explained, shrugging a little as if this wasn't a big deal. Hermione and I looked at him in shock and Ron, who was sitting nearby, was most amazed of all.

"_Seeker? _But first years never… you must be the youngest house player in…"

"A century," Harry answered him, "Wood, the captain, told me."

Ron just watched harry with his mouth open. Hermione tried to look less impressed as she ate her steak and kidney pie. I beamed, however, and reached across the table to pat him on the back.

"Well done, Harry," I laughed, "That's brilliant."

"I start training next week. Only don't tell anyone. Wood wants to keep it a secret," Harry laughed.

Two boys with brilliant red hair, similar to Ron's hair, came up. They were shorter and stockier than Ron, but still had about a million freckles on their faces- and were basically completely identical to each other.

"Greetings, Harry!" one said cheerfully.

"We are Fred and George Weasley, Ron's older brothers, at your service," said the other in an identical voice.

"I am Fred, and he is George," the first one clarified, "And we are on the team too. Good job, Wood told us. We're the Beaters."

"We're going to win the Cup for sure this year," George was practically cheering, "Wood was very excited when he told us."

"Anyway, we've got to go, but it was nice to meet you- obviously Ron's told us all about you. We're off to go find out about a secret passageway our mate found," Fred explained.

"Ta!" George waved and left with his brother out of the hall. Harry looked mildly overwhelmed as we all turned back to our food. Suddenly, Neville reappeared, but he had a bloody nose and a cut over his eye. I looked at him in alarm as he sat down, stemming the blood flow from his nose, and clearly trying to pretend like it was no big deal.

"Neville… what happened?" Hermione gasped in amazement.

"Nothing," Neville said quietly, eating a load of spaghetti as if the discussion wouldn't continue.

"Blimey, Neville, that doesn't look like nothing," Ron insisted, much to my surprise.

"Well, it is, alright?" Neville snapped. He was specifically not meeting my eyes.

I didn't want to drop it, so I opened my mouth again to ask, but Hermione looked at me and shook her head almost imperceptibly. I scowled and turned back to my own food.

I looked up and watched as, almost as if they were strutting, Malfoy and his cronies walked into the hall and walked over to the Slytherin Table. However, they veered past our table first. I readied myself to get extraordinarily annoyed with the people as they walked over to where we were sitting.

"Hello Longbottom," Malfoy greeted cheerfully, "How's the nose?"

Neville said nothing but kept his head down, looking stubbornly at his plate.

"Sorry you didn't have your champions to help you out back there, but hey, just had to set the status quo didn't we?" Malfoy laughed, "Oh, Potter, how long do you have left at this castle?"

Harry glared at him, "Well, until I graduate seventh year I expect."

Malfoy sneered, "Not expelled then?"

"Not yet anyway," Harry responded tartly.

"Don't you have a table of your own to go to?" I asked offhandedly, grabbing an apple from a plate and not directly looking at the loathsome boy.

"A better table, I'd say," Malfoy responded, but I heard him and his pack walking away. I looked up then and at Neville.

"Did he beat you up?" I asked softly, knowing my voice was rather deadly there.

"Drop it," Neville whispered.

"Neville…" I insisted.

"Maggie," he snapped. I had never heard him be angry before, "Just… don't worry about it. Don't worry about _me_."

"Why ever not?" I asked softly. He looked up at me, still stemming the flow of blood from his nose.

"Because it just makes them madder," Neville sighed, "Because they know the moment you're gone I'll be helpless and they'll attack me because they're mad at you. So stop sticking up for me because it just makes them attack me more."

I looked at him in sadness.

"Same goes for you, Harry. They can't get to you two but they can get to me, so they do that. I appreciate what you both did this afternoon but just… don't do it again," Neville finished, standing up and leaving the table and his half-eaten dinner.

I stared at his retreating back and looked down at my plate in shame.

"Well, it's not like he doesn't have a point. He will get the retaliation for anything you two do to fight Malfoy. I'd just stay low if I were you," Hermione stated almost cruelly.

"Oh shut it," Ron suddenly intervened, "Are you two honestly going to let Malfoy continue to torture Neville like this?"

I looked up at Ron sadly, "I don't want to hurt him further by bothering Malfoy."

Ron shook his head in disappointment and left the table. Harry just looked down at his plate in sadness as we sat there, clearly blaming himself as I had done.

As I got up to go leave the hall, Malfoy and his gang were standing in front of the door to the Great Hall, probably waiting for me and Harry, who followed close behind me.

"Well," Malfoy grinned, "Aren't you going to do something about your poor, pathetic friend?"

"At his request," I said through gritted teeth, "No."

"Aww," Malfoy smiled, "I guess I'll just have to teach him a lesson about that as well, teach him not to go being the hero. Because he isn't, is he? He'll always shave to hide behind people just the slightest bit bigger and braver than himself."

"Leave him alone, your tiff isn't with him," Harry snapped.

"You're right, Potter," Malfoy walked up to him, invading his personal space, "My problem _is_ with you, and your pathetic adopted sister."

"The only pathetic person here is the one who has been punched by a girl so hard that they bleed… and the only one here who can claim that prize is you," I snapped, standing up to him and invading his personal space on Harry's other side.

"I could take you in a fight any day, Johsnon," Malfoy sneered, "It's a real cowardly thing to punch someone when they aren't ready for it, and aren't expecting it."

"It's a real cowardly thing to take on and beat up the people smaller and weaker than yourself and simply speak big words to the people who are an actual threat to you," I hissed.

"I wouldn't expect a girl like you to understand the real rules of a man's fight," Malfoy laughed cruelly, "And since Potter has only ever grown up with girls, I guess he counts as one."

"I'd be very, very careful with any sexist comments you say around my cousin," Harry said in a low voice, "She might _actually _kill you."

"Prove it," Malfoy said strongly, stepping back from us and backing towards the staircase, "I challenge you to a duel. You don't even know what one is, you poor sheltered babies."

"Of course we know what a duel is," I snapped back, completely clueless of course, "Name the time and the place."

"The trophy room, at midnight," Malfoy replied promptly, "I assume you'll fight together, so I'll be bringing Crabbe with me. Till then," and he walked off briskly down to the dungeons.

Harry turned to me angrily, "What happened to not fighting Malfoy for Neville? Not sticking up for him?"

"I agreed to stop sticking up for Neville," I said coldly, "I never said anything about not sticking up for myself."

I started walking over to the stairs to go up to the seventh floor, where the common room was, "I don't expect you to come with me. I'd appreciate it, because I figured we were in everything together, but I don't expect you to." And I went upstairs to the Common Room, leaving him behind in the Entrance Hall. I didn't even stop to say hello to Neville in the Common Room, figuring he still blamed me for his pain, and instead went upstairs to my room to stare up at the ceiling above my four-poster.

It was a little before midnight when I crept downstairs to the Common Room. I was expecting it to be empty as I snuck towards the door to leave, but instead I saw Harry standing there, his arms folded in front of his chest.

"We are in this together," Harry stated calmly. I looked at him incredulously.

"I'm sorry that I was hesitant to fight Malfoy after hours in the middle of some part of the castle we've never been," Harry continued, "And I'm sorry for being lippy about that. We are in this together and I want to fight Malfoy as much as you do. I want to get him back for being a git. But I had my misgivings and I'm sorry."

"What made you change your mind?" I asked as I stepped towards him.

"I never changed my mind," Harry paused, "I knew I was going to come with you. But I don't want you under the impression I approve fully. You've gotten detentions and points off since the second we got here and sneaking around at night…"

"It's a little exciting, isn't it?" I grinned. Harry rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smile in return.

"Honestly, if you weren't here I'm sure I would be just as bad as you. You force me to be somewhat sane," Harry rolled his eyes. We both made a move towards the door and I turned to give him a large hug. He laughed and returned it.

"This Hogwarts thing is going to be a bit more difficult than we imagined, eh?" I said into his shoulder. He laughed in response and pulled back from the hug.

"I expect so," Harry grinned.

"Please don't do it, guys," I heard a timid voice call out behind us.

We turned around to see Neville standing at the base of the staircase, still in his pajamas, which I was entertained to see had footies. It was adorable.

"Neville, we aren't doing it for you, not this time," I stated calmly, "We're doing it because he insulted me and Harry."

"Still, don't. I don't want Gryffindor to get into trouble and he'll just beat me up again," Neville sighed.

"Neville…" I groaned, realizing it would be almost impossible to persuade him before it was time, "Just… come with us."

"Wha'?" Neville asked.

"Just… we don't have time to argue so just come along," I stated calmly.

"Well you will have to argue with me," I heard Hermione Granger call from the girl's staircase. I groaned as I looked at her as she came down, in her usual silk pajamas.

"Hermione…" I sighed in exasperation.

"Don't Hermione me," she snapped, "You don't want to go about getting into more trouble, Maggie. And Harry, you're on very thin ice as it is.

"We need to do this," Harry sighed.

"No, you really do not. Has it even _occurred_ to you that this probably will be a trap?" Hermione demanded.

I sighed, "Of course it is. But we still need to go."

Hermione scowled and I continued, "We're going, and if you don't want to follow you don't have to. If you want to follow, go right ahead. But we don't have time to argue this anymore."

Harry and I turned to leave and we heard both Neville and Hermione following behind us. Harry looked at me in irritation and I shrugged hopelessly.

The castle at night was foreboding and eerie. Dark shadows lined the walls and flickered in the moonlight from outside the windows. We crept along, as silent as we could, and walking down and silently through the corridors. I was terrified as we did so, realizing exactly how much trouble I would be in if we were caught. This was beyond any other shenanigan I had pulled, and I finally felt some fear.

We finally reached the Trophy Room, which was about as far from the Common Room as you could get, and of _course_ it was empty. Harry and I both groaned quietly in realization that at any moment…

"Follow me, my sweet… they should be around here…" the lovely voice of Mr. Filch could be heard around the corner.

"I _told_ you!" Hermione hissed.

"Go!" Harry responded, in equal annoyance. We snuck out the back of the Trophy Room, but had to keep going through the hallways. We were completely lost, unable to find our way back to the Common Room as we snuck around trying to escape from Filch. Neville seemed to be whimpering behind us and I felt like probably the worst person ever born for inflicting this on him.

We were trapped in the middle of a corridor, the only way out a large door, completely trapped. Harry didn't even think and opened the door and we followed him in, slamming the door behind us and all panting anxiously. But we didn't even have the time to rest- a low growl filled the room. Neville immediately began whimpering and I felt something warm and slimy hit the top of my head. I touched my head in disgust to look up and see a giant, literally monstrous, three headed _dog_.

Harry, Hermione and I had looked up at once and we all immediately screamed. We ran out, choosing expulsion over death, and ran through the hallways.

Now I realized, of course. We were on the third floor. Now that that was evident, we managed to navigate back to the staircases, up to the third floor, somehow avoiding Filch on the way.

We reached the Gryffindor Common Room and Neville collapsed to the ground, clearly still terrorized. Before the rest of us could say anything he got up and walked up to the boy's dormitory without saying anything at all to any of us. I realized, in that moment, that I probably had lost his friendship. I sighed mournfully and turned, ready to loose Hermione – and probably Harry – as well.

"I can't believe that they have that on the third floor," Harry gasped breathlessly.

"Never mind that – did you see what it was standing on?" Hermione demanded angrily.

"I didn't have time between _holy crap it has three heads_ and _get the hell out of here_ to look down at its feet, sorry," I sighed. I knew I sounded defeated and I kind of felt that way.

"Well it was standing on a trap door, meaning it was guarding something. Now, I'm going to bed, before you two get us killed, or worse… expelled," Hermione snapped, before walking up to our dormitory.

I turned to Harry sadly, "You're going to cast me off too?"

"Naw," Harry shook his head, "We've gotten ourselves into scrapes like this before. Remember the cave fiasco when you were ten and I was nine?"

"I still have nightmares sometimes," I smiled a little. Harry laughed.

"Well, I'm just saying, after that I was still your friend. This was as much my idea as it was yours. Am I irritated with how it went? Of course. Am I even madder at Malfoy than ever? Certainly. Am I mad at you? Nah. You were just being you," Harry smiled and patted me on the arm, "Don't worry about them too much either. This isn't such a big deal as to warrant lifetime hatred."

"Maybe with Hermione," I sighed, "But I am worried about Neville."

"Neville's had one of the worst days of his life," Harry reasoned, "You can't help but understand him not wanting to deal with you right now."

"Yeah…" I sighed, "Well, goodnight Harry."

"Night Maggie," he smiled and walked up to the Boy's Dormitory.

The next day, Malfoy looked surprised to see us still students at the school. But Hermione and Neville both made a point to ignore me and Harry, which we had been expecting. Harry would still talk to Ron, but I basically only had Harry as a companion. Occasionally I would talk to Siobhan, but I had managed to spread a reputation around school by now as a bit of a loose cannon. Not many wanted to talk to me, especially since it seemed like Hermione and Neville were furious with me or terrified of me, respectively. So it was just me and Harry, and Ron occasionally coming to annoy me beyond belief.

This continued on, pleasing Malfoy to no end, until Halloween.

We were in Charms. Unfortunately, without me having an investment in defending Hermione (and Neville) to our fellow Gryffindors, she was at the mercy of the teasing of Ron, Seamus, and even Dean to an extent.

We were practicing the hover charm and, somehow, Hermione had been partnered with Ron to work on it. I was with Harry, of course. The reason Neville wasn't with Hermione was because, somehow, Siobhan didn't want to work with Ron and got out of it. Harry and I were near enough to hear everything that was being said.

"It's _Lev-i-O-sa, _not Levio-SA," Hermione emphasized, "You're saying it wrong!"

"You do it then, if you're so _clever_," Ron sneered.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Hermione pronounced – rather perfectly, I might add – and her feather lifted up elegantly from her desk.

"Look everyone!" Professor Flitwick cheerfully declared, "Miss Granger's done it!"

"Show off," Ron muttered. I looked over at him and wanted to tell him off, before remembering (for the umpteenth time) that I wasn't Hermione's friend anymore.

We left the classroom, I forced to walk with Ron and Harry afterwards as Ron had walked up to Harry to talk to him about… well, Hermione.

"She's unbearable, isn't she?" Ron sighed, "You obviously realized it."

"I wouldn't say that…" Harry answered slowly.

"Course you did, you stopped hanging about with her, even Maggie has," Ron nodded at me, "The point is is that she's a horrible know it all, really annoying and bossy and no one can stand her because of this, not even Maggie, not even you. I mean seriously, she almost annoys me more than Malfoy. No wonder she hasn't got any friends anymore," Ron shook his head almost mournfully.

I was suddenly bumped into and I watched in horror as a head of hair just a tad bushier than mine hurried past us through the castle. I was horrified that Hermione had heard that – after all, I hadn't stopped being her friend, she had stopped being mine. I didn't mind her that much at _all_, in fact I rather liked her.

I looked at Harry in shock and he mirrored my expression.

"You shouldn't have said that, Ron," Harry said sternly, "To be honest, _we_ pissed _her_ off. And she isn't that bad."

I nodded in agreement and took off into a run, chasing through the corridors all the way through the school. I finally found Hermione in one of the girl's bathrooms, and walked in cautiously. A Ravenclaw third year saw me, clearly following the sobbing girl, and left respectively. I walked into the bathroom and stood outside the stall.

"Hermione?" I asked calmly.

"Go away," she sobbed, "You hate me, so why are you even here?"

"Hermione, I don't hate you. I never hated you," I sighed, "I thought you hated me for that whole fiasco in the trophy room, so I gave you space. I didn't want to push in where I wasn't wanted."

"Well Harry hates me," she continued to sob.

"Harry doesn't hate you either, he just stood up for you against Weasley," I soothed quietly, "You're just a bit overwhelming for Harry. But I like you a lot – I was really glad we were friends. And I want to be friends again."

"You do?" Hermione sniffled.

"Course I do," I laughed, "I can't just hang around with Harry all the time, can I? And then there's the issue that Ron will come and hang out with us whenever it's just me and Harry, and it drives me mental. I can't take him for too long."

"What's your threshold?" Hermione laughed weakly.

"Two seconds. Come on, Hermione. He was wrong. You do have friends. You have me, you have Neville…"

"Neville doesn't want to talk to any of us anymore," Hermione sobbed, "He picked to partner up with Siobhan, not me."

"Oh," I mumbled, "I'm sorry, Hermione."

"It's alright," she sighed.

"Maybe if you just tone it down a little? Loosen up a bit?" I suggested. Hermione sighed again.

"People told me that all the time in primary school. I didn't have any friends there either."

"I repeat – we're friends. And Harry will come round, I promise. You're a really nice girl, I'm sure you'll make lots of friends once you just loosen up the strings. Break a rule, answer a question wrong in class," I laughed.

"I'll try the first one… the second is just too much," Hermione hiccupped, probably a laugh hiding behind a sob.

"Fair enough," I smiled, "Do you want to be alone? I don't mind missing the feast."

"It's the Halloween feast," Hermione sighed, "Go enjoy it. I'll be along. But… thank you."

"You're welcome," I murmured softly. I went off to the feast, feeling a little better about everything, and went to sit with Harry.

"How is she?" Harry asked calmly. I noticed Ron was down at the other side of the table with Seamus and Dean again.

"I think I cheered her up a bit by promising that I really am her friend… and you are too," I smiled weakly.

"She thought we ditched her?" Harry asked in shock, "Well then. Now I feel pretty horrible."

"It's OK, I think it's going to be better now," I smiled, "C'mon, let's eat some food."

Harry looked down at the other end of the first years at Neville, who was eating alone again.

"And Neville?" he asked very softly as we ate the many pumpkin flavored foods.

"His choice," I responded quietly, "I don't want to push on him. We terrified him quite a lot and his life has been pretty quiet since then."

"You're right," Harry agreed, "I just feel terrible."

"One day he'll come round," I whispered hopefully, "And then we'll both get on our knees to apologize for being prats."

"No more night wandering?" Harry asked.

"I think this is a pact we have to make," I laughed in response.

Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor Quirrell came running in, completely frenetic and terrified. We all looked at him silently as he shouted out "TROLL IN THE DUNGEON! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!"

The entire hall went even more dead silent as he whispered, "Thought you ought to know," and collapsed onto the ground.

Everyone immediately started screaming. I'm proud to say I did not join them in doing so, however I did stand up calmly and looked at Harry. He wasn't nearly as scared as our surrounding students either.

"SILENCE!" Professor Dumbledore shouted. We all looked at him calmly, everyone stopping their movements and staring at the head table.

"If everyone will please not panic… the Prefects will lead their houses back to the dormitories. The professors will come with me down to the dungeons. Everyone will go in an orderly fashion," Professor Dumbledore ordered.

Harry and I began following Percy Weasley calmly before I realized something in terror. I turned to Harry who looked back at me with a very similar expression.

"Hermione!" we both gasped. We managed to sneak out of the line and sprinted towards the girl's bathroom, literally running as quickly as we could in unison down the hallway.

We were stopped in our tracks by the sight of a large shadow, accompanied by very loud and angry grunts, walking through the corridor.

"Oh, shit," I whispered under my breath.

"Maggie!" Harry gasped in shock.

"Oh shut it, this calls for that word… it's headed to the girl's bathroom," I whispered. Harry's eyes widened in recognition and we crept around to the bathroom. We walked to the door and I grimaced at Harry as I opened it.

Hermione was crouched underneath a sink, screaming at the top of her lungs as the troll- an ugly, horrible sight- lifted up his club to smash it over her. She managed to roll underneath another sink to avoid the club. I ran in and over to the side, shouting "HEY! LOOK AT ME YOU UGLY THING!" and jumping up and down, doing jumping jacks even. The troll, a dumb beast, turned to see me and lumbered over to attack me.

Harry then ran up and leapt onto the back of the troll's neck, holding round it with his arms. I took out my wand, only knowing two spells- how to turn a match into a needle and how to levitate something. The troll had his club right there and I knew which one to pick.

"You can do it, Maggie!" Hermione encouraged from her hideaway.

I waved my wand, pronouncing as clearly as I could, "Wingardium leviosa!" The club lifted out of the troll's hand and into the air. I beamed up at the object and Harry let go from the troll and from distracting him as I let the club fall – SMACK! – onto the troll's head.

He swayed dangerously around and I managed to just get out of the way as he fell onto the ground, knocked unconscious. I turned to Harry and he beamed at me as Hermione crawled out from under the demolished sinks.

"You alright Hermione?" Harry asked, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah," she smiled weakly, "I'm alright."

Professor McGonagall, of course, then came in followed most of the professors. We turned to him, all of us fearing expulsion once again.

"What… please… explain…" Professor McGonagall stammered.

"It was my fault, Professor," Hermione stated calmly. Professor McGonagall looked as shocked as we felt.

"I know a lot about trolls – read all about them, you see. And, well, I thought I could defeat him on my own. Harry and Maggie knew what I had done and if they hadn't come and found me I'd probably be dead," Hermione lied smoothly. I looked at Harry in shock but he stepped on my foot angrily.

Professor McGonagall sighed, looking furious, "That's very irresponsible of you Miss Granger and I expected better of you. Five points from Gryffindor. As for you two… well, you are very lucky that you weren't killed. But you were very brave, so for sheer dumb luck I award you both five points," Professor McGonagall nodded, "Now get back to your dormitories immediately."

We all walked slowly out of the bathroom. I looked at Hermione in amazement.

"Just trying to loosen up a bit," Hermione beamed. I laughed and wrapped my arm around her shoulder and Harry's shoulder at the same time. We walked together up to the seventh floor, all talking amiably.

Nothing could ever beat good friends, in the end.

AN: I enjoyed writing that chapter. It can't, after all, be so simple for someone like Maggie to make friends. She does end up pissing off people quite a lot haha. Mystery solving in the next one! Doesn't get much better than that.

Shout outs to rangerhero for favoriting my story and TA-twinArmageddons for reviewing- I love feeling like my story is appreciated! On that note, please review, favorite and follow guys! I can't emphasize enough how much it keeps me writing, and it really isn't hard... just a few nice little words in that box at the bottom of the screen (even if you're Anonymous! I accept those,) and a click on one of the options, eh?

Please review!


	6. Ch 5: November 1st to Just Before Xmas

Chapter Five: November 1st – Just Before the Christmas Holiday, 1991, Hogwarts

Being from Braemar, I was used to being cold. Hence, the change from the beginning of fall to the transition of winter was a welcome moment, rather than a dreaded one. I didn't even change any of my wardrobe choices, but simply reveled in the joy of feeling chilly for once.

Harry had begun Quidditch Practices, and the first game against Slytherin was coming up rapidly. The schoolwork was piling on even more now and Hermione was the only way Harry even managed to make a dent in it. Needless to say, he was very grateful for her now, and they got along better than ever. In fact, she lent him a book that he never stopped pouring over – _Quidditch through the Ages_. I must confess that I barely even knew the rules, and I didn't have much interest to learn about it, even though I could have done with flying pointers. There was just something about the unnatural shape and composition of the broom that drove me mental.

Hermione definitely 'loosened up,' and as we went outside to study on the grounds the day before Harry's first Quidditch match she conjured up a bright blue fire that she stuck in a jar. We sat around the jar with our backs to it for warmth, though I didn't think I needed it much, when Professor Snape walked out onto the grounds.

Our teatime chats weren't very frequent, especially since after the Three Headed Dog incident I had toned down my cheek enough that they weren't really necessary. However, during them we would chat about not Harry, not school, but my mum and home life. He seemed to find that was the only thing he could really talk to me about, actually. When school or Harry came up he spoke on the subjects awkwardly or angrily, respectively. So I learned to just go along with his chosen, overworked topic of conversation.

He was limping today, however, and it was extraordinarily noticeable. The three of us clustered closer around the fire to block it from Snape's view, though Hermione seemed rather unphased. He walked over to us, however, limping even more heavily through the cold.

"What's that you've got there, Potter?' he demanded angrily. Harry showed him his Quidditch book innocently.

"Library books are not to be taken outside the school. Give it to me, and five points from Gryffindor," Snape demanded, taking the book away from Harry.

"He made that up," Harry muttered, "His leg's a new thing."

"Looks painful, if that's any consolation," I responded in equal annoyance. He was more stubborn than I was, and this drove me crazy.

"I've definitely read library books outside," Hermione commented thoughtfully, "I suppose you'll just have to go and get it back this afternoon Harry."

"Great. Because I love having more excuses to go and see Snape," Harry replied bitterly.

"I'll go if you want me to," I offered calmly, realizing the truth behind his words.

"No, I'll go. It's my book. Wouldn't want Snape thinking I can't handle my own issues," Harry scowled, "Shall we go back inside, then? Maybe it's less crowded now."

We all nodded in agreement and went up to the castle. After a time, as we all were sitting around and doing nothing in particular – we'd finished our homework for the weekend and I was just trying to teach myself wizard's chess, along with Hermione. Harry watched us doing so anxiously, and I could tell he was nervous for tomorrow.

"Alright, the book says that this move requires you to…" Hermione had her nose in a Chess beginner's book and looked up at Harry in annoyance, "Oh, just go get the book back. Find something to do to get your mind off it."

Harry sighed, "D'you think he'd be at the staff office?"

I nodded, "I think so. Just go in there, he can't keep it from you forever, it's not even yours."

He got up and turned around to look at us from the portrait hole, "Would either of you like to…?"

We both shook our heads in unison and Harry sighed, "Alright then. See you later."

Hermione and I continued to work through the beginner's wizard chess book, though we were both dreadful at it, truly. Neville came down from the boy's dormitory and walked past us, not saying anything to either of us. I felt my heart weigh down heavily but I didn't say anything to Hermione about it, not wanting to worry her over my petty sadness at having let Neville down.

When Harry came back it was a sudden occurrence. He walked up to us in amazement and sat with us at our table.

"Well I see you don't have the book. But what's wrong?" I asked conversationally, only just now looking up from the chess board.

Harry bent down towards us and began whispering, "I went down to the staffroom. No one answered my knock so I opened the door to grab the book, thinking Snape must have left it there. But he was in there with _Filch_, and he had his robes lifted above his knee- he was showing his leg to Filch and it was bloody and mangled. Filch was helping him bandage it when I walked in, and he definitely said, "How do you keep your eyes on all three heads at once?" He then got mad at me and I ran out of there, but…"

"He tried to get past the three headed dog?" I asked in confusion.

"That's got to be what it means!" Harry nodded eagerly, "And he stopped limping after Halloween. He's after whatever it's guarding! And he probably let the troll in so it would be a distraction from what he was doing!"

Hermione looked puzzled, "But what could he be after that was being guarded?"

"Oh right, we forgot to tell you. Well, on Harry's birthday party Hagrid was talking rather loudly about having gotten something – we can't remember what it was, some sort of rock or something – from Gringotts to hide in Hogwarts. That same day a vault was broken into that had been emptied on that day, so we're almost convinced Hagrid emptied the vault and hid the rock or whatever it is, I might have misheard him, beneath Fluffy," I explained in a hushed and rushed whisper.

"A rock?" Hermione repeated, looking troubled, "Well… I know Snape isn't nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something that's being hidden at Hogwarts. That means Dumbledore's guarding it, and he wouldn't try and steal from him."

"But why else would he try to get past the dog?" I sighed, "I don't have a better explanation than Harry. And why would he want whatever it is, anyway?"

Harry shook his head to indicate he didn't understand any better than I did. We all went to bed, him still clearly terrified as well as now troubled. I worried as I went to bed that he wouldn't be able to pull it together enough to concentrate the next day.

We all went down to breakfast the next day, Hermione and I both decked out in as much Gyrffindor wear as we could find. Harry wasn't in his Quidditch robes yet, dressed in a simple sweater and jeans, looking down at his food and not touching a bite of it.

"You know what Mum would say if you didn't eat anything, Harry," I sighed calmly.

"I don't want anything," Harry replied in a bit of mumble, just staring down at his plate.

"Just some toast," Hermione suggested, offering a plate to him.

"I'm not hungry," Harry retorted, indeed looking more like he was about to be sick. He got up from the table and walked back to the Common Room, evidently to get dressed. I looked across at Hermione in sadness and she shook her head.

"He'll be fine, he's just… well, terrified by the looks of it. But I'm sure he'll be fine," Hermione didn't look convinced of her words as she looked down to her plate and ate her bacon. I turned and nibbled on some toast when Neville walked over to us and sat next to Hermione, also decked out in Gryffindor wear.

"Can I talk to you, Maggie?" Neville asked quietly.

"Sure, Neville," I responded, very shocked and letting that sentiment enter my voice.

"Alone," Neville amended. Hermione looked at him in surprise and got up, but Neville shook his head.

"You're eating, we can leave," Neville murmured. Hermione looked at me in confusion and I shrugged in response, getting up and walking out of the Great Hall with Neville, going off to one of the empty staircases.

"Hey Neville, what's up," I asked calmly, trying to pretend the last few weeks hadn't happened.

"You know what's up,' Neville sighed, before continuing on, "I'm sorry for how I've been acting."

"You had every right to act in this way, Neville," I responded calmly, "I'm sorry I put you in those situations. It wasn't my job to try and protect you and it just lead to more trouble, as you're aware. So I'm sorry."

"Well, I shouldn't have been so ungrateful. You were only trying to help and you really didn't mean for Malfoy to come after me after you punched him in the face. So it's not your fault, and it was really kind of you actually that you went and tried to help by teaching Malfoy a lesson," Neville paused, "And I'm sorry for following you guys out to meet him at midnight. I might have been rather upset about getting beat up again and didn't think clearly."

"It really wasn't provoked by you, you know," I sighed, "Malfoy made some sexist comments that I couldn't let him get away with. Was I mad about you? Yeah. But I wouldn't have done the stupid trophy room stunt without what he said to me."

"I know," Neville nodded, "And again, I'm sorry for blowing it so out of proportion. And I'm sorry for avoiding you afterwards. I just… I didn't feel like getting into that sort of situation again so soon after the last time."

"I understand that. I forced my friendship on you, too. You didn't seek me out; you didn't want to be my friend. So I apologize for that," I murmured kindly.

"No, I… I was glad to be your friend. I was glad to be _anyone's_ friend, actually. But I just… well, I still just think you pitied me, not that you actually liked me or wanted to hang out with me in any way, so I didn't want you to have to… waste your time on me," Neville shrugged meekly.

"What?" I gasped quietly, "Neville… I don't just pity you. That's not the only reason I wanted to be your friend."

"It's not?" Neville asked skeptically.

"Course not," I smiled, "I won't deny that I pity you. It's kind of impossible for me to deny that. But when I met you on the train I thought you a nice, quiet, kind boy. I find it admirable that you're shy and that you're sweet. I mean, so many guys this day are too… well, they have to be right about everything, they can be kind of nasty, and they just drive me irritated to no end. Harry isn't like that. But Ron, Seamus, Malfoy, they are… Dean isn't, really. And I wanted to be your friend because, well, I'm a huge tomboy so I get along with guys better than girls, that's just plain fact, and you seemed like a good genuine boy rather than some sort of stuck-up looser. And that's the truth."

Neville smiled weakly, "But you're so brave, I must drive you crazy because I don't stick up for myself."

"First off, I don't know if I count as brave anymore. I was horrifically reckless our first two weeks of school. And though you and Hermione and a giant mutant dog shocked me into meekness, it won't last long," I shook my head, "I don't think you want to aspire to my brand of bravery. Second off, because of my pure insanity, I try to surround myself with friends who will balance me out. Harry is a much milder version of myself and our friendship has been honed and refined for years now. And Hermione is brave, but not reckless in the slightest, so she's perfect. And you're not reckless at all either, and you're also not so stubborn a person… so self-righteous a person… that you give nice balance on that front. And third off, you _are_ brave, Neville," I beamed.

"What?" Neville shook his head in disbelief, "I am not."

"You are too," I laughed, "The Sorting Hat put you in Gryffindor, did it not?"

Neville sighed, "I disagreed with the hat for a very long time on that one. We argued the entire time."

"Oh?" I asked in surprise, unaware you had any sort of choice with the hat at all.

"Yeah. I thought I should be in Hufflepuff. The Hat was insistent I belonged in Gryffindor."

"Well there you go," I gestured, "The Hat does know some things."

"But _why_," Neville shook his head, "I don't make any _sense_. You and Harry and even Hermione make sense as Gryffindors. I don't belong. I'm a misfit."

"You're not a misfit. You're very, _very_ brave. You just have a different kind of bravery. There are all sorts of different types," I smiled, "I'm brave in the way that I don't care what happens as a result, I have to do what I think is right because it is right, regardless of the consequences. Harry is brave in that he will face any challenge head on, no matter how scary- he'll fight a giant dragon if it comes to it. He fought a pack of wolves when we were kids with a giant stick and he didn't look scared at all. Hermione is brave because, even though she cares what people think about her, she doesn't let it stop her from being herself and standing up for what _she_ believes in- she get past her fear of rejection to do it. Do you understand what I'm getting at so far?"

Neville nodded, though still looking skeptical.

"Well, you're brave in that you aren't afraid to pick yourself back up again. You work hard in every class, even potions, despite failure you've suffered in the past. You came to Hogwarts even though you yourself said you didn't show much magical ability. You went to our second flying lesson without any hesitation. And you face Malfoy every day, even though you're probably terrified, because you must. You're a silent sufferer, which is just as brave as all the other types. You don't let anyone know about your pain, either – you wouldn't tell us after Malfoy had beat you up what had happened, you didn't complain about your wrist from falling, and you don't tell us exactly how much you suffer from Snape, or from not understanding what's going on in a class. And you don't ever speak of what happened to your parents so that you have to live with your Gran," I realized aloud, "You haven't told anyone. None of us have any idea. You don't use that tragedy in your life to get ahead or to make friends or to garner less… self-deprecating pity. You put it aside and brave the storm without help and without consolation. And that is a great bravery all its own."

Neville looked at me, clearly still shocked by my words. I leaned over to hug him, "You really are brave, Neville. And when you really start believing in yourself, I'm sure you'll start showing those other, more obvious versions of bravery too."

Neville looked at me when I pulled back from the hug with a weak smile.

"You're a really good friend, Maggie," Neville murmured softly.

"I try. When I like someone, I really try," I laughed, "So we _are_ friends again, and that speech wasn't just a waste of air?"

"We are," Neville smiled weakly, "Shall we go to the Quidditch Match?"

"I can't miss my brother's first game," I nodded, "Let's hurry."

We meandered together through the castle out to the grounds, to the Quidditch Pitch. It was a chilly morning, even for me, and I wrapped my scarf more tightly around my face. We reached the Gryffindor section, where Hermione was waiting for me and waving her hand wildly in the air.

"Hey Maggie! Hello Neville," she smiled at us from underneath her scarf, "How are you both?"

"Excited," I beamed, "And terrified."

"Of course. I'm just hoping he doesn't get pummeled _too_ bad," Hermione sighed, "Do you have the banner?"

"Course," I laughed, taking it out of my robes. Dean Thomas then walked up and grinned at us.

"Did my drawing hold up?" he asked as I unrolled the banner. It said "Potter for President!" And it had a large Gryffindor lion at the bottom.

"Your drawing is fantastic, Dean, thank you," I beamed at him.

"Well, I'm going to try something here," Hermione mused as she pulled out her wand. She waved it and began muttering a little, and suddenly the paint on the banner flashed between all the different colors of the rainbow. Dean, Neville and I oohed in appreciation.

"Brilliant, Hermione," I praised. She beamed at me and we each took a corner of the banner. Neville helped out by holding the portion next to me, and Dean did the same with the portion next to Hermione.

"Oi, Johnson," I heard a voice call out. I turned to see Ron and Seamus standing near us, neatly bundled up as well.

"Nice banner," Ron finished, nodding with a slight smile. I managed to return it, despite my disapproval of him.

"Thanks Weasley," I called out as we all turned back to face the Quidditch pitch.

Madam Hooch walked out onto the middle of the field. She asked the players for a nice, fair game and I could see Harry's messy black hair from up where I was. She then threw the Quaffle (at least, that's what I _thought_ the red ball was) up high into the air, and a Gryffindor teammate caught it.

The announcer, a boy I knew to be Lee Jordan, one of the Weasley twins' (whom I liked a whole lot more than I liked Ron) friends, spoke, "And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor – what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too – "

"JORDAN!" Professor McGonagall shouted over the microphone.

"Sorry, Professor," Lee responded as I burst into giggles, along with Neville, Dean and Hermione next to me.

"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good friend of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve – back to Johnson and – no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle."

We all booed at the top of our lungs.

"Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes – Flint flying like an eagle up there – he's going to sc – no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle."

We all cheered, Hermione even bouncing up and down a little in excitement. It was rather uncharacteristic of her and I grinned at her in amusement. She blushed and stopped her bouncing and I shook him head, completely amused now.

"That's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and – OUCH – that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger – The Quaffle taken by the Slytherins…"

"Damn it!" Dean shouted at the top of his lungs. Neville, Hermione and I looked at him in shock and he shrugged slightly.

"Sorry, I get into these things. You should see me with muggle football," Dean shook his head sadly. Hermione smiled in recognition and even I knew a little about it from going to the village with my parents, so I nodded. Only Neville looked confused, but as he was used to that he just brushed it off and kept watching.

"That's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger – sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which…"

We all laughed in appreciation.

"Nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes – she's really flying – dodges a speeding Bludger – the goal posts are ahead – come on, now, Angelina – Keeper Bletchley dives – misses – GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"

We all cheered at the top of our lungs and Hermione dropped her side of the banner to hug me. Dean moved forward to grab it and Neville shifted over too, so now Hermione was standing with me, flushed a little bit. I laughed and shook my head.

"Well, it's important to Harry, so…" Hermione responded, blushing.

"Course, I'm just glad to see you cut loose this much," I grinned, "Let's hope he'll catch that snitch soon, eh?"

Suddenly we heard the movement and scurrying of students behind us. We turned around to see Hagrid walking up towards us, moving aside students as he did so.

"Hagrid!" we both called, waving him over. He came to stand with us and beamed.

"Been watchin' from me hut, but t'isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"

"No," I sighed, "We were just hoping for that."

"Keep outta trouble, though, tha's something," Hagrid nodded, taking out a pair of binoculars and looking up at the sky where Harry was.

"I get nervous by the second," I commented, "There's a lot of chances to get hurt…"

"Didn' think you would get worried about tha', Maggie," Hagrid chuckled softly.

"For _me_ getting hurt. This is my brother we're talking about here. I have every right to worry about _his_ pain," I shook my head sadly.

"Fair enough," Hagrid laughed.

"Slytherin in possession," Lee continued, "Chaser PUcey ducks between two Bludgers, two Weasley, and Chaser Bell, and speeds towards the – wait a moment – was that the Snitch?"

Pucey dropped the Quaffle and Harry dive bombed, heading towards the glint of gold that had been by the chaser moments before. I gripped the banner tightly and felt my teeth clench. He was going as fast as the Slytherin seeker, they were racing along in unison. Suddenly Harry pulled out ahead of him, and he was close – very, very close – to the snitch. I held my breath, gripping the banner even tighter, watching in anxiety when Marcus Flint zoomed out in front of Harry and stopped him, causing him to go spiraling through the air.

"FOUL!" we all screamed, and I watched anxiously as Harry managed to get his broom back under control.

Gryffindor was given a penalty shot, but the Snitch had disappeared. Dean started to shout something about a football rule that didn't apply to the situation at hand.

"So – after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating – " Lee continued commentating in a furious voice.

"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall hissed.

"I mean, after that open and revolting foul –"

"_Jordan, I'm warning you –" _

"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue to play, Gryffindor still in possession."

I was watching Harry closely, terrified that he would get run into or hit again. I drew in a sharp breath as he dodged a bludger and held it in as his broom suddenly lurched forward. I felt my eyes widen and I poked Hermione, who watched Harry in similar shock. He was lurched forward again and, as he apparently tried to move, he couldn't do so the broom started zigzagging forward and backward around, moving randomly, as though trying to buck him off.

"No!" I shouted, terrified, "What's going on? Hermione, what's happening?" I said all of this very fast.

"Slytherin in possession – Flint with the Quaffle – passes Spinnet – passes Bell – hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose… only joking, professor… Slytherin score – oh no…"

"Has he lost control of his broom?" Hagrid asked, clearly confused, "This is a ruddy rotten joke to be playin', otherwise."

Everyone around us was starting to notice Harry's predicament as well, as he started to roll around in midair. It suddenly jerked forward and Harry was hanging onto the broom by one hand.

"HARRY!" I screamed, tearing a little of the banner in my terror.

"Maybe Flint did something to his broom?" Dean asked, watching with wide eyes.

"Can't have," Hagrid sounded as terrified as I did, "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic – no kid could do tha' to a Nimbus Two Thousand."

Hermione grabbed Hagrid's binoculars and looked over at the teachers' stands.

"What the heck are you doing, Hermione?" I demanded, starting to feel a little sick.

"I knew it," Hermione gasped, "Snape – look!"

I took the binoculars and looked through. Snape was looking up at Harry, his eyes fixed on him, mouthing words obviously nonstop.

"He's doing something – jinxing the broom," Hermione stated.

I was in complete disbelief, "Hermione, I know Snape hates Harry, but why would he do this, in clear view of the other teachers… I don't believe he'd ever want to kill Harry."

"The evidence is clearly in front of you," Hermione hissed, "Look, just leave it to me."

I frowned as Hermione ducked out of the crowd and looked back up at Harry. His broom was vibrating violently and he was being jerked back and forth madly. Everyone in the crowd was watching anxiously and the Weasley twins were trying to help him onto their brooms, but the broom would just jerk out of the way when they tried.

I looked back over at Snape and saw he was still mouthing. I just couldn't believe it. I looked wildly around for another person who was mouthing something and I saw, just above him, Professor Quirrell mouthing under his breath as well.

_What?_ I thought anxiously. It didn't make any sense for the _Defense Against the Dark Arts_ teacher to be cursing Harry's broom.

_Is it Snape? And Quirrell's trying to stop him?_ I frowned and almost tore the banner right through as Harry almost fell off his broom again. It just didn't make any sense for _either_ of them to be trying to kill Harry. But I knew if I tried to tell that to Harry, or Hermione, or even Neville, they would all look at me in disbelief and probably call me a nutter.

I looked back over at the teachers and watched in amazement as bright blue flames erupted on Snape's robes. The crowd around him started to freak out and everyone, including Quirrell, was distracted. In the intervening time, Harry managed to get back on his broom.

Neville, who had been sobbing, managed to stop and look up as Harry zoomed off towards the ground. I watched in terror, now convinced that he was being thrown all the way to the ground. He clapped his hand on his mouth and he fell onto the field, coughed, and something golden fell into his hands.

"I've got the Snitch!" he yelled, everyone able to hear him above the crowd. The crowds went into pandemonium, and Hermione came up to stand next to me again, looking right pleased with herself.

"Let's go find Harry," she suggested softly, "I want to talk about this. Hagrid?"

Hagrid nodded and we all walked down to the field and left with him out to Hagrid's hut.

"It was Snape," Hermione explained, "We saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, I know what it looks like."

"Rubbish," Hagrid insisted, "Why would Snape do somethin' like tha'?"

I privately agreed with Hagrid as Harry explained, calmly, "I found out something about him. He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."

Hagrid dropped his teapot in shock.

"How do you know about Fluffy?" he demanded.

"_Fluffy?_"

"Yeah – he's mine – bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year – I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the –"

"Yes?" Harry gasped.

"Now, don't ask me anymore. That's my secret, that is."

"But Snape's trying to _steal it_."

"Rubbish. Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothing of the sort," Hagrid insisted.

"So why did he just try and kill Harry?" Hermione insisted, "I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong! I don't know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now listen to me, all three of yeh – yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel –"

"So we gotta find out who Nicolas Flamel is? Excellent," I laughed, glad to be off the topic of Snape and what he was up to. Hagrid looked furious with himself and we finished our tea in silence, going back up to the castle.

For the next few months before the Christmas Holidays, we spent an inordinate amount of time in the library. I was starting to feel like Hermione because of it, but we had to figure out who this Flamel character was. As Christmas approached, I got a letter from my parents dictating how excited they were that we were coming home for the holidays.

"I guess we can't stay here to keep researching," I sighed mournfully.

"Couldn't we say we want to stay at school with some friends?" Harry asked, "I know you want to go home and see them and so do I, to be frank, but we can say lots of people stay at school during the Holidays…"

"Except they don't. Hermione's even going home," I shook my head, "I don't see how we can get out of this one."

"You could say we need to stay behind for a project. Herbology or transfiguration or something, you have to stay behind to help a professor and I want to stay and keep you company," Harry offered.

"What project would a first year be working on? Come to think of it, what project would a pre-NEWT student be working on?" I shook my head, "They won't ever buy it."

"You could try, you do impress those teachers so much," Harry begged, "We can't just sit around for two weeks not figuring anything out."

"You're right. I'll try to come up with a good excuse," I sighed. I went up to my room then, writing a letter about how I wanted to stay at school during the Holidays to work with Professor Sprout to keep the plants warm during the winter, as I had promised to help out in the Greenhouses when I could. This wasn't even a lie; I liked Herbology enough to have promised this earlier. She just didn't need my help keeping the plants warm, Neville had already volunteered for that. But it was close enough to the truth that I hoped it would be convincing as I sent off Darwin with the letter.

Sure enough, my parents mournfully agreed that it was okay for me and Harry to stay, and that they were proud of my interest in my studies. Hermione went off to her parents' house under the full impression that we would continue to research, and hopefully discover the identity of, Nicolas Flamel.

AN: See guys? Neville came round :D I know that the beginning closely follows the first book, and I apologize for that. As time goes on it deviates more and more dramatically from the events to the point where, by the seventh book, I won't be directly quoting very much at all. It's a sort of cascade - as more events are changed by Maggie's presence, more are changed further on as a result, and so on. And, as we move on in the series, the chapters won't align so directly with the chapters from the books as much. For now that's just easier, since I include so much of the first book in this. The second and third books, for example, will be much shorter here.

In other news, if you all need a laugh, yesterday I got bit by a stingray at the pet a stingray exhibit. My life is unreal sometimes.

Thanks to huntress serena, ZeroLink21, and lectorsum for following/favoriting this story. In a similar vein, thanks to TA-twinArmageddons and Viola Potterhead Girl for reviewing this story. Also a thanks to Oh-Holy-Ruler-Mika-chan for reviewing my other story, Hand Magic. I really appreciate the reviews because they let me know what you guys are thinking about this story- constructive criticism IS encouraged guys, you don't have to praise it to high heaven. I recognize that I'm not a perfect writer and that there's always room for improvement, and I would love to see what you guys think I should improve. Also thanks for taking the interest to keep up with this story long term, it means a lot. Please feel free to review at any time for any chapter, because I'll appreciate all of them.

Please review! I'll try to get back to you guys again tomorrow.


	7. Ch 6: The Christmas Holidays, 1991

Chapter Six: The Christmas Holidays, 1991, Hogwarts

Hogwarts at Christmas was absolutely fantastic. The entire castle was decked out with holly and Christmas trees and lights, and it felt even more magical than it had before. I didn't even think that was possible.

The only first year Gryffindors left were me, Harry, Neville, and (unfortunately) Ron. As such, I had the entire dormitory to myself. It was quite nice to feel like I had my own room for once, and one could catch me at many moments dancing around in my pajamas to music only I could hear in my head (to complete the image, my pajamas consisted of short shorts and a tank top.)

Hermione had left with the parting command to try and discover what we could about Flamel, but once the Holidays had started it was rather hard to focus on all that. There were very few people left other than us first years and we always got to sit by the main fire. Harry and I would laugh and play exploding snap and plot how to get Malfoy to be expelled. Neville would often come to sit with us when he wasn't out working with Sprout, and contributed very elaborate plans to our plotting. Ron was usually found with his brothers, but as it was only us left in the Gryffindor Common Room over the holidays, we all intermingled to a certain degree.

I found that I rather liked the Weasley twins, though Ron and their older brother Percy drove me mad. Fred and George had a similar disregard for the rules as I did, and as such we got along, joking and laughing and plotting ways to desecrate Percy's prefect badge.

When I wasn't pulling pranks with them, Harry and I would try and learn Wizard's Chess with the help of Ron, who had seen me reading the book Hermione lent me while she was away. He would often get frustrated with our slow progress but still he praised us as we managed to get better over time.

On Christmas morning I awoke to a modest pile of presents on my bed. Grinning in excitement, I opened to find a new, leather-bound diary from my parents along with a very nice quill; seeds from my favorite forest plants from my sister which I fully intended to plant in the Greenhouses; a book on magical dueling from Harry that made me chuckle as I set it aside; a box of Cauldron Cakes from Hermione; a box of fudge from Professor Snape that was actually quite tasty; an ornate, if roughly carved, bow and arrow set from Hagrid that must have taken a lot of effort for him to carve; and last (but not least) a small plant that was very similar to Ivy, but was actually a magical plant that would grow as tall as the sky if I planted it in suitable soil, from Neville.

I came down the stairs wearing a sweater, my coat, jeans and boots and I had my quiver hung on my back and my bow in my other hand. Harry came downstairs in his pajamas, looked at me and just shook his head.

"Who in the blazes gave you that and what _were_ they thinking?" Harry laughed.

"Hagrid," I laughed.

"Merlin, he gave me a flute. Though, to be fair, it is a beautifully sounding one and I'm going to try to learn to play it, in all honesty," Harry shook his head, "Thank you, by the way, for the book on advanced Quidditch maneuvers."

"Well, you finished Quidditch Through the Ages so fast I figured a similar novel would be good," I beamed, "Thanks for the dueling book, I'm excited to read it," I laughed.

"Want to see the other thing I got?" he asked eagerly, and I knew he had been waiting to unveil this since the moment he opened it. I nodded in excitement and he pulled out a large, shining, silvery piece of cloth. It looked like materialized water.

"What _is_ it?" I gasped.

"Ron reckons it's an Invisibility Cloak," Harry explained, "Look!" He wrapped the cloak around himself like you would one of the school ones, and just like that his body was gone – only his head remained floating in midair. I looked at him in complete shock and he readjusted the cloak, throwing it over himself like we would with blankets to play tent inside of the house when it rained. He completely disappeared. Amazed, I walked forward and reached out my hand to where he had been just moments before, and pressed it against his shoulder. He was definitely still _there_.

"You're no longer reflecting light," I whispered.

He pulled off the cloak, "Quoting the physics book again?"

"Look, mum bought me all those school textbooks on biology, chemistry, physics and geology. Blame her," I was so amazed that my voice came out like a whisper.

"And the books on organic chemistry, on paleontology, and astronomy, can't forget," Harry chuckled, "But yeah, it would appear so."

"That is… bloody freaking brilliant," I finally gasped out, "You win. All the Christmas Present Awards. All of them."

Harry chuckled and took a melodramatic bow as I clapped.

"But who sent it? Not mum and dad, surely," I shook my head.

"They left a note," Harry held it out to me, "But didn't say who they were."

I looked down at the note and read, _Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well. A Very Merry Christmas to you._ The handwriting was loopy and elegant.

"Your dad?" I whispered in amazement. Harry nodded.

"Wow that's… Wow," I shook my head.

"What?" Harry asked, confused by my amazement.

"Well come on Harry. When we were kids all you ever wanted to know was what your parents were like, who they were. All you ever wanted was to have your own parents around. You loved my family, still do, but you wanted your own back. It is all you've ever wanted," I looked at him sadly, "You can't hide it from me."

Harry looked at the ground and shuffled his feat a little, "Yeah, s'ppose that's true."

"And now you have something from your dad," I looked at the cloak, "That's gotta mean something."

"Course it does," Harry looked up at me, "I wish your mum would tell me more about my parents, but as it is, this is a connection to Dad that I didn't have before."

We looked at each other across the room for a while.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Don't be," Harry shook his head, "It's not like _you_ have any choice in the matter. And besides, I love living with you guys. You _are_ a sister to me, and so's Elena; your parents have been really good to me and sometimes I think of them as my parents. But I don't all the time because they aren't, I had parents and they died for me, in some way. I don't understand why I haven't been told much about them, but I'm sure your mum has a good reason for it. Maybe she just doesn't know everything about my parents, maybe Professor Dumbledore or someone high up on the ladder asked her to let them explain everything, maybe she just wants to shelter me from terrible things, maybe she just hasn't found the right moment. I love Aunt Melinda and she isn't keeping things from me to hurt me, I know that much."

I smiled, "I'm glad you understand that. I wouldn't have."

"That's why we're a packaged deal. You're the recklessness and I'm the moral backbone," Harry stuck out his tongue.

"It's actually kind of sad how true that is," I shook my head, "Go get dressed; I think we need to try out this bow."

"Correction- I think you really want to try out the bow and I should come along to make sure you don't hurt yourself. But yes, I will go and get dressed," Harry laughed and ran back to the boy's dormitory as I waited downstairs.

He came back down wearing a large sweater with the letter H on the front, his own jacket, khaki pants and boots.

"Where'd you get the sweater?" I laughed.

"Ron's mum sent it to me, apparently she likes me from Ron's letters or something. Anyways, she sent me a sweater and some sweets," Harry shrugged. I nodded and we headed towards the portrait hole when I heard Neville call out behind us, "Can I come, too?"

We turned around to see Neville, dressed in his cloak, a sweater of his own and jeans and boots.

"Course you can! Come on," I waved him over to us and he scampered forward, walking with us out to the snow.

"Thanks for the plant, Neville, I hope to plant it in the Greenhouses when it gets too big for the pot," I laughed.

"Oh good, you recognized what it was. And Professor Sprout might not like that, you might want to plant it at home. You said you lived in a forest," Neville commented.

"There's that… might be smarter, you're right," I nodded as we headed out to the door.

"I loved the Flitterbloom you sent me, by the way," Neville continued as we walked over to the edge of the forest.

"Great, I'm glad you liked it," I beamed.

"Alright, we need a target for Maggie… or else she'll go shooting everywhere and then someone's going to get hurt," Harry interjected, looking a little ruffled for being completely cut out of the conversation, "Can anyone here think of anything?"

"Here," I heard a voice call out. We turned to see Hagrid walking over with a very large target, which he hung on a tree.

"I knew yeh'd be keen on this, Maggie," Hagrid beamed, "So I made this las' night. I plan on keepin' it, ter be honest, so don't go wanderin' off with it."

"Alright, Hagrid!" I laughed. Hagrid got out of the way and I clumsily put an arrow into the bow, stretching back the string as far as I could and squinting my eyes as I peered at the target. Harry and Neville watched avidly as I finally let the arrow go, watching as it flew and hit the tree branch on which the target was hanging.

"So much for that," Harry laughed.

"Shut it, I'm going to practice until I get it," I stuck my tongue out at him.

"This could take a while," Harry sighed dramatically, sitting on the snowy ground.

"I don't see why you need to do this," Harry continued, laughing as I notched a second arrow and peered at the target.

"You never know, Harry. One day we might be camping or something, and we'll need food. I read in a transfiguration book that's the one thing we can't make out of thin air- food, that is. And it might be useful if I know how to use this," I shook my head as I let the arrow fly and it hit the wood of the trunk just above the target.

"First off, why would we go camping? We _live in the woods._ And if we're going camping for reasons other than recreational, please explain why we would ever do that. Second off, if you're our only hope for food, I might as well have someone around to write my will," Harry responded skeptically.

"You never know what might happen," I responded, lowering my bow, "Maybe we'll be on a scavenger hunt."

"In the woods? I'd sooner say you're on the run from the law and you dragged me with you," Harry laughed.

Neville laughed as well and bent down to the snow, just to reemerge holding a snowball. He threw the ball at my head just as I let another arrow loose at the target, which managed to hit the very outer edge (and I mean, _the edge_) of the target.

"You little –!" I gasped. Neville practically giggled and I bent down to get my own snowball and I threw it at Neville in retaliation. Suddenly, we both looked at each other and came to the same realization. We both bent down to grab snowballs and, in unison, threw them at Harry.

Thus, the bulk of the morning was spent throwing snowballs at each other, though occasionally Neville would need a break or Harry would want one too, and I would turn to keep shooting arrows at the target. By the end of the day, I managed to get a few of my arrows in the bull's eye.

Christmas Dinner fulfilled our ravenous appetites – there was so much food I just couldn't fathom it all and had to get a little bit of everything. The wizard crackers were fantastic, and as I pulled one with Harry a small monitor lizard came crawling out and onto my arm as I grabbed a black fedora with white stripes and put it on my head.

"Alright, I'm keepin' him," I laughed, gently massaging the back of the lizard's head. I turned to the head table and shouted, "Professor Dumbledore, can I keep him?"

Everyone in the hall save the Slytherins and Percy laughed – I could even see Professor Snape was having a very, very hard time holding back a chuckle.

"I don't see why not, though you'll need a good cage for him, Miss Johnson!" Professor Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling with mirth. I allowed the lizard to sit on my shoulder as I opened another cracker with Harry, where he received a real admiral's hat and several white mice.

"That hat is extremely classy, my sister," Harry grinned.

"Am I ever anything but classy, my brother? Now, put on your admiral's hat and salute Sargent Sticky Fingers of the Twelfth Lizard Brigade," I nodded at my scaly companion.

"Sticky Fingers? Is that really what you're namin' him?" Harry laughed.

"No, his name's… his name's…" I frowned for a moment down at the reptile, "He is Albus Lizard, named after Professor Dumbledore."

"Really? Why after Dumbledore?" Neville asked curiously.

"See the marks around his eyes? They look like Dumbledore's spectacles. And he has this little mark down the underside of his jaw like Dumbledore's beard. And Dumbledore's why I can keep him, so Albus he is," I beamed, petting the lizard again as he closed his eyes.

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore's honored," Harry chortled.

"Don't laugh, you've already lost your mice haven't you?" I teased.

I opened two more crackers with Neville that evening, in which he received a safari hat and a large wooden walking stick and I received a black top hat (I kept the fedora on, however) and a miniature, walking and roaring model dragon. Harry received his own Wizard's Chess set, luminous balloons, and a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit. We were all laughing hysterically and up at the teacher's table Hagrid got progressively drunker until he kissed Professor McGonagall on the cheek, causing her to giggle uncontrollably.

After Christmas Dinner, we all went back out onto the grounds for a proper snowball fight with the Weasleys, eagerly chasing each other around and falling over ourselves in the snow. Albus was in his newly fashioned cage (courtesy of Professor McGonagall) and sleeping soundly in his place by the Gryffindor fire.

Harry, Neville and I formed one team while Fred, George and Ron formed another. Percy chose to sit it out, probably in the common room reading some sort of book on famous and powerful wizards. We three crouched behind a large snowy mound and looked at each other determinedly.

"Alright men," I ordered softly under my breath, "This is the big one. We're going over the top."

"What are you talking about?" Neville asked in amusement.

"World War One reference," I waved it off, "Muggle thing. Harry gets it." He nodded in agreement.

"Your parents are wizards…" Neville laughed.

"Mum's a muggle born, she taught us _more_ about muggles than wizards growing up, and if she had been allowed to speak freely it would have been equal. That's not the point, you're wasting time Neville," I laughed.

"Sorry," Neville beamed.

"Anywho, this is it. The big one. The one that will determine our fates as we know them. We must work together, like a well-oiled machine. Harry, you'll take left flank. Neville, you'll take right. I'll take point. We move as a triangle, in unison, together. We must charge and give them everything they got! They have sibling rivalry between them. The twins might be able to work together but Ron will argue with them enough that we have a chance. We must take that chance. We can do this, men! Are you ready?" I hissed like a drill sergeant.

"Sir yes sir!" Harry laughed. I punched him in the arm and Neville giggled.

"Alright, on three. One, two, three!" I shouted. We got up from behind the mound and moved forward, throwing a bombardment of snowballs at the Weasleys. It was a mighty war, with many casualties on both sides. Harry and I had to return to retrieve our fallen comrade from the snow, where he laid making angels as though it would bring about his salvation from the bombardment. But the twins were ultimately distracted by Percy coming out to call us all to supper, and the opportunity to steal his Prefect badge. Without the twins, picking off Ron was like shooting fish in a barrel, and we claimed victory by lifting our fallen comrade over our heads and carrying him up to the castle in celebration.

I went upstairs to go to bed, but I couldn't help the nagging feeling that Harry was going to utilize his cloak. So I crept downstairs and sat sleepily at the base of the boy's staircase.

"Maggie," I heard Harry sigh. I looked up to see him pull the cloak off of his head, "What're you doin'?"

"Waiting to see if you'd do this," I shrugged tiredly, "We promised no more night wandering."

"That was before I got this thing – you know, the thing that stops Filch from seeing me?" Harry hissed.

"What could you possibly have to do right now?" I laughed sleepily.

"Going to the Restricted Section to try to find out about Flamel," Harry retorted.

I stood up in shock and amazement, "Can I fit with you under there? We can cover more ground together."

"That's my sister," Harry beamed and he threw the cloak over me and him. It indeed covered us both easily, and we walked the stairs to the library and to the Restricted Section in the back. We had unlimited time to finally figure out who this bloke was, and it thrilled us both to no end.

Harry carried a lamp in front of him, still covering his arm and hand with the cloak so it looked like the lamp was floating in midair. I watched the sight filled with the creeps, gripping Harry's arm tightly. He reached down and held my hand comfortingly, like we had when we had faced the wolves in the woods, or got lost in the cave, or climbed the big fir tree and looked down at the ground below feeling like we were going to fall.

The books that we looked at were surprisingly uninformative. They were often in different languages, one book was covered in blood, and the entire place put my hairs on end. We walked down to a different shelf and Harry took a large black and silver book. It was huge and I helped him balance it carefully as we opened it.

_!_ The book screamed louder than I had ever heard anything scream before. It sent my teeth on edge and every end of my nerves into frenzy. Harry hurriedly closed it and knocked over the lamp. I could hear footsteps as someone approached and I threw the cloak more properly over us.

We sprinted past Filch and his outstretched arm down a corridor to pant near a suit of armor. Harry looked at me in amazement and I just shook my head sadly when we heard voices.

"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library – Restricted Section."

Filch was speaking to someone. I felt my blood turn cold and Harry looked very pale in the dim lighting. Filch's voice got nearer sounding as he talked and of course, Snape was the one who replied, "The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."

Filch and Snape turned the corner and started approaching us. There was no way they wouldn't bump into us and Harry noticed the door to an empty classroom. I nodded and he managed to squeeze through without moving the door. I followed close enough behind to keep the cloak on, and by some sort of miracle, managed the same feat. We both leaned against the wall and listened as their footsteps died in the distance.

I pulled off the cloak and cautiously closed the door. Harry looked at me in amazement.

"That was much too close," Harry whispered, deadly silent.

"Agreed. We gotta be more careful," I murmured. I turned to finally notice a very, very large mirror as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame. On the top of the mirror was the writing _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_.

"Well, I suddenly have an urge to learn every language ever written," I muttered under my breath. Harry and I both approached it. Looking in, I just saw the pair of us.

"Well then, this is the most superfluous mirror I've ever seen," I shook my head, stepping back. The moment I did, however, Harry gasped in shock and jumped back, his hand on his heart.

"What, what?" I demanded, running up to him. Harry looked in complete confusion as I looked in to see the pair of us again.

"Seriously, Harry, what is it?" I asked in concern.

"It's… my… it's my parents," Harry whispered.

"_What_?" I looked at him like he was crazy.

"Not when it's us… When it's the two of us looking in it's just us in the reflection. But when you leave I… I'm with my mum and dad. You're there too, but my parents are there, and… Mum looks just like your mum, and Dad looks just like me, and they're… they're crying, but they're smiling at me and… they're my parents. I know everything about them, and they're alive, and they're with me," Harry whispered.

"I wish I could see them," I frowned sadly.

"Try looking in, just you," Harry suggested.

I did, moving in front of it as Harry got out of the way, though clearly reluctantly. But I didn't see Harry's parents, nor my parents. I was with Harry, and Hermione, and Neville, and my little sister Elena. We were all standing together, and we were laughing, and all of us were safe. I just could tell. There was a little newspaper clipping that said, _YOU-KNOW-WHO KILLED AT LAST_, and another with Malfoy clearly behind bars for something bad that he'd done. And all of us were happy and safe.

"What do you see?" Harry asked in amazement. I apparently had begun to cry, but I hadn't noticed; I lifted up my hand to wipe the tears away.

"We're all safe, Harry. Malfoy's locked up and Voldemort's been defeated. Neville's happy and sure of himself, Hermione's happy, you're happy and safe, and Elena's safe and happy too. We're all… OK. We're older, too. I'd say we've just left school and Elena's in the middle of it, but we've survived school with all our limbs," I sighed softly.

Harry looked at me in concern, "What makes you think there's a chance we wouldn't?"

"Harry, mum said it herself. Voldemort's going to come back some day. What makes you think he's going to wait for us to finish school? If anything, he's hurrying towards it now, trying to come back to power when you're really _not_ prepared to defeat him," I sighed sadly.

"You're really worried about me getting hurt?" Harry whispered.

I turned to him and hugged him tightly, "Of course I am, Harry."

He rubbed my back, soothing me softly for something he didn't even know he had to sooth me about. I then turned, avoiding looking at the mirror, and sat to the side while Harry sat there and watched his parents for a while. While for him it was mesmerizing and he simply couldn't tear his eyes away, I couldn't bear to look at what I saw in the mirror, not wanting to give myself hope or face my deepest, darkest fear.

Eventually Harry got up and pulled me up with him, muttering something about bed. We walked back to the Common Room easily, and I slept wrought with nightmares that a giant snake had eaten my brother, poisoned Hermione, squeezed the life out of Neville and then, for good measure, smashed my sister with its tail before turning to me. I woke up, panting and in a sweat, vowing to never go to that blasted mirror again. Like a snake that giant even existed.

Harry couldn't eat the next day, and he seemed completely obsessed with the mirror. Ron and Neville couldn't understand what was up with him and neither of us felt up to explaining the events of last night. I couldn't, especially, as I felt embarrassed for getting so worked up for Neville's safety. Harry looked completely off and I worried that the mirror was affecting him badly too.

The next day, Harry looked exhausted, and I was willing to bet Albus and my bow and arrows that he had been looking at the mirror again. When I asked to play chess, he declined; when I asked to go exploring, he declined; when I asked to go to the library to look up Flamel, he declined. He completely lost the will to do anything.

"Stop going, Harry," I begged as we sat at the dinner table, "It's not… I'm worried you'll get caught, and you've been so focused and obsessed with the mirror, it's not… not healthy."

"You sound like Hermione," Harry muttered.

"Please don't go," I begged again, but my pleas fell on deaf ears. I went to bed terrified that my brother would never get out of this trance.

The next day, however, Harry looked a little bit healthier as he sat with me at breakfast.

"What happened?" I asked curiously, fully aware he had been out the night before.

"Dumbledore found me out," Harry explained, "And he's moving the mirror to a new place, and he explained what it was about."

"Oh?" I asked.

"Yeah," Harry paused, "It apparently shows your greatest wish- your greatest desire, the one thing in the world you want most. For example, what I want most is to know my parents and to have them with me, and that's what it showed. For you, the one thing you want most is your friends to be safe and happy, and that's what it showed you. But… Professor Dumbledore explained to me that people have wasted their lives looking in that mirror, because oftentimes, like with me, it shows us something that can't be had."

"Harry, I'm so sorry…" I whispered.

"It's okay, better I get thrown back into reality now rather than driven mad," Harry smiled weakly, "Now I can focus on Flamel."

Over the rest of the holidays, however, I knew he hadn't gotten over it. He had his nightmare morning face every day, that face he got the day after he had a bad nightmare. I was used to it back home, sometimes, but this was a constant and it worried me to no end.

We ended up discovering nothing about Flamel as the holidays came to a close. Hermione returned, horrified that Harry had been out three nights in a row, and disappointed that we had failed to find anything about Flamel. Harry was convinced he'd read the name before, as was Hermione. Unfortunately, my one clue about the 'stone' aspect was no help at all.

School started up again, and we didn't have very much time to research between classes and homework, and Harry had almost no time at all thanks to Quidditch. Apparently, Wood was obsessing, hoping to win the Quidditch Cup. I was all for it, because when he practiced until late at night, he didn't have Nightmare Face the next morning.

One night, however, he had nightmare face walking up to me and Hermione before bed. We looked up at him in concern as he sat across from us playing wizard's chess at the table. I was actually getting quite good at it.

"Snape's refereeing the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff," Harry sighed sadly.

"_What?" _Hermione shouted in horror, "Don't play! Don't even think about it! Fake an illness, pretend to break your leg, come to think of it; I'll help you actually break your leg…"

I didn't say anything. Neither of them had an inkling of my conviction of Snape's innocence; after all, they probably figured I hated him more than either of them with all the "screaming matches" (I claimed them to be, but they were actually tea times) I had in Snape's office. My silence was probably perceived as silent fury, where really it was my silent disbelief.

"I can't. There isn't a reserve Seeker, if I back out, Gryffindor can't play."

I looked up from the board at that moment, trying to ignore my confusion about Snape, to see Neville topple inside. I immediately ran to him and saw he had his legs locked together with the aptly named Leg-Locker Curse. He must have had to bunny hop all the way to the Common Room. Everyone but me started laughing, except Hermione, who performed the counter curse instantly and Neville got to his feet, leaning on my shoulder.

"What happened," I demanded angrily.

"Malfoy. He wanted to practice this on someone and I happened to be nearby," Neville answered mournfully.

"Go to McGonagall!" Hermione insisted as I silently plotted my revenge. It would involve a boil-inducing potion, one of my precious arrows (I'd find a way to get it back,) some muggle tar, and perhaps a jar of feathers… Maybe Albus, but I didn't want my precious lizard to touch Malfoy's scummy skin… Maybe I'd threaten him with Albus… Pretend he was poisonous or something… Malfoy was a raised-up wizard, he probably didn't know Gila Monsters and Bearded Lizards were the only poisonous lizards… well, I was counting on it anyway.

"I don't want more trouble," Neville insisted again, his determined face on.

"Neville, you've got to stand up to him yourself," Harry insisted, "It does no good for me and Maggie to stand up to him, because he just knows he can still get to you. Maggie, stop plotting some elaborate revenge plan in your head, don't think I don't know that expression you have. But Malfoy's used to walking all over you, you've got to stop lying down for him to do it."

"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough for Gryffindor," Neville mumbled.

"Neville," I snapped, "Remember our conversation before Harry's first match? I meant every word. You are _exceptionally brave_."

"You're worth twelve of Malfoy," Harry agreed, "The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it?" he asked as he gave a chocolate frog to Neville, "And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin."

Neville unwrapped the frog and smiled weakly.

"Thank you, Harry… I'm going to go to bed. D'you want the card?" Neville handed the Wizard Card to Harry. He looked down at it and groaned, "Dumbledore, really? From the ones Aunt Melinda and Uncle Nathaniel gave me I have about seven, and…"

Harry's eyes widened to the size of saucers as he looked at the back of the card, "_I've found him! I've found Flamel!_ I _knew_ I recognized the name, look at this! 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, _Nicolas Flamel'!" _

Hermione immediately ran up to the girl's dormitories without another word and came back almost instantaneously with a ginormous book.

"I never thought to look in here!" she gasped, "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."

"Hermione, you're amazing, and I love reading as much as the next person… more than the next one, honestly, but… _light? Really?"_ I demanded. Hermione shook her head and continued to flick through the book until she found what she was looking for.

"I knew it! Look! Nicolas Flamel is the _only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone!_"

"Erm…" Harry and I both grimaced.

"Oh honestly you two, just read this," Hermione forced the book under our noses. We both read about how the Philosopher's Stone was a legendary substance with the power to transform any metal into pure gold and to produce the Elixir of Ife, which made the drinker immortal. The only known maker was Mr. Nicolas Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty fifth birthday and lived with his wife, who was six hundred and fifty eight.

"The dog must be guarding Flamel's Philosopher's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why it was moved from Gringotts!"

"Well, _anyone_ would be after it, there's no question and no surprise that Snape is going for it," Harry gasped.

"And no wonder," I continued, quick to change the subject, "We couldn't find it in all those Modern Wizarding books. Someone who's six hundred and sixty five isn't very modern, is he?"

Harry sat back from us and looked at us as well all basked in our triumph, "I'm going to play in the match. I won't give the Slytherins the satisfaction in making fun of me and I won't give Snape that either. It'll wipe the smiles off their faces if we win."

"I just don't want to be wiping you off the field, brother," I sighed, "Just don't want to be wiping you off of the field."

AN: I deeply enjoyed writing this chapter. I figured I couldn't change Harry's Mirror of Erised vision too much from the book even though he grew up with a family. So the reason behind it changes - rather than wanting a proper family of his own that he never had, he simply wants to understand where he came from and who his parents were, which he never got to have. I took a very, very, VERY long time deciding on Maggie's Mirror of Erised. I wavered between about a million different things.

I plan on sketching out a cover for this story because I usually update from my phone and as such, didn't realize that we've been able to use images for a while now. Yes, I am slow. And I'm not a particularly good drawer but I'm going to try anyway.

In other news, for shits and giggles yesterday I decided to go on Pottermore with a new account and, from the point of view of my main character, see what house she would be put into. Yes, she was put into Gryffindor, though her wand was slightly different (a different wood, walnut, though the rest was actually the exact same, which was awesome.) At any rate, I enjoyed this a lot. And to open an account on Pottermore, I was forced to make an email for her. So, if any of you guys feel like emailing my character where I would reply to you as her for some weird reason, her email is dragongirl731 at gmail dot com. I don't know why you would, buuut I felt like putting the opportunity out there because it existed. Plus, it was fun playing Pottermore as my character. Too bad there aren't any more huge quizzes left after this because that's the only reason to go through it as her in the end. Trust me, the next time JKR releases some sort of personality quiz, like to show what classes you should take third year or something similar, I'll go back on her Pottermore rather than my own.

And now that I've finished that long and rambling trip to nowhere, here are the shout outs! Thanks to Xterker23 for following this story, aaaaaaand thanks to Xterker23, rangerhero, and a Guest for reviewing- and that guest three times! Thank you anonymous stranger! Also I apologize for all the PM's yesterday. I had some writer's block and I decided to reply to your rviews.

Please review, favorite and follow this story follks! I really do love hearing what you think, whether it's positive or negative.

Please review!


	8. Ch 7: March to Final Exams, 1992

Chapter Seven: March – Final Exams, 1992, Hogwarts

In the month leading up to Harry's game, Hermione had the brilliant idea to try and learn how to use the leg-locker curse, just in case Snape tried to do something to hurt Harry. Since I was pretending to hate Snape same as the rest of them, I went along with this, learning the curse with Hermione's aid.

"_Locomotor Mortis, Locomotor Mortis_," Hermione muttered under her breath, her wand ready at her side as we walked up into the Quidditch stands.

I looked up into the teacher's stands to see if Quirrell was also present. He was, and so was Professor Dumbledore, of all the people in the world.

I turned to Hermione and poked her in the arm to bring her attention to this fact. She looked at the Headmaster in shock, almost letting her wand drop to the floor.

"Oh, thank _God_," Hermione whispered. I beamed. There was no way Snape _or_ Quirrell could try anything with _Dumbledore_ around! I turned to Hermione with my hand raised in the air.

"I request the highest of fives," I declared proudly. Hermione laughed and high fived me. Neville looked at us, squinting in confusion.

"What _are_ you two on about?" Neville shook his head in amazement.

"Oh don't worry about it, Neville," I beamed, "Though I wouldn't count on Harry not being able to stay on his broom this time."

"Bit worried about Snape though, still," Hermione frowned, "He looks furious."

I could see his glare from here. I frowned, thinking back on the previous day, where we had had another teatime chat (I had criticized him for bullying Neville over his rather poor potions skills,) and Snape had seemed completely fine. There wasn't even a single mention of Harry in that conversation. So what had made him so angry? Was it really that Slytherin could be upset in this upcoming match? The two teams rose into the air and Alicia Spinnet caught the Quaffle, indicating the beginning of the match. I watched Harry anxiously, and since I was standing in the front of the stands I had the nice, sturdy wooden half-wall to hold onto, rather than a flimsy banner.

I suddenly felt a sharp jab in the back of my head. I turned around to see Malfoy, who had been leaving me alone for the most part since I had narrowly escaped trouble back in the fall.

"Oh, sorry, Johnson. Didn't see you there," Malfoy was grinning at his cronies, "Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Johnson?"

Hufflepuff had been awarded a penalty and I was determinedly ignoring Malfoy before I decided to punch him in the face again.

"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" Malfoy continued loudly as Hufflepuff was awarded another penalty, "It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money – you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains."

Neville and I turned around in our seats to look at Malfoy. I had my fists clenched into balls at my sides.

"Ah, right, and they should let you on too, Johnson, you've got no decent friends," Malfoy laughed.

"Watch. What. You. Say," I hissed angrily.

"I mean, _really_? Granger, Longbottom, and Potter? _Really_?" Malfoy continued.

"Hermione is ten times smarter and a ten times better witch than you could ever _hope_ to be," I hissed, "Neville is kinder and more genuine and braver, yes, braver, than you have the possibility for in your poor, pathetic DNA. Harry is more courageous, more moral, and more perceptive than you could ever aspire to. I'm proud to call them my friends, and to be honest Malfoy, even if you paid me all the money in the world, gave me everything that could possibly be given to me, I wouldn't want to be the friend of a scummy, stuck up, idiotic bully like you."

"Longbottom? Brave?" Malfoy laughed, "I'm sorry, the rest of your statement is invalid just because of that.

"He's brave because he faces what he knows will be horrible situations every day without even a whimper or a complaint, Malfoy, which you don't understand because you need to whine and whine and whine to get your way. You are a spoiled brat," I spat in his face, "And a terrible wizard to boot."

Malfoy glared at me, "Watch what you say, Johnson."

"She's right," Neville interjected, his voice wavering but surprisingly strong, "I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy."

"Longbottom, if brains were friends you'd have fewer friends than Johnson, and that's saying something," Malfoy roared with laughter.

"Malfoy, I'd be very careful to say anything more," I hissed, "Or we'll relive good old times at Flying Lessons."

"Maggie!" Hermione shouted, "Harry -!"

"What?" I spun around and looked to watch Harry go into a spectacular dive, causing the crowd to gasp and hold their breath, standing on their feet.

"Aww, Johsnon, I'm so sorry, Potter's offing himself because he can't bear to live with you any longer," Malfoy commented mournfully.

I couldn't hold in my anger anymore. I turned around and tackled Malfoy to the ground, pinning his arms to the floor with my knees. I raised my arm and punched him in the face violently, causing blood to splatter all over his newer looking robes. Neville followed me immediately and was overtaken by Crabbe and Goyle, but I had no concern with that. Malfoy had managed to wrangle himself from underneath me and raised his own fist to my face, but I ducked out of the way and timed a well-placed kick to his groin. He squeaked and fell underneath the seats as I turned to help Neville, who was getting pummeled by Crabbe and Goyle. I kicked Crabbe in the shin and managed to punch Goyle in the stomach before Crabbe grabbed me and punched me in the face in retaliation. I felt my nose start to bleed and Neville somehow came to my defense, kicking Crabbe hard in his knee and whirling around to punch Goyle in the mouth.

I was so proud.

Suddenly the stands around me erupted into cheers. I heard Hermione call out, "Maggie! Maggie! Where are you? The game's over! Harry's won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" I stood up, wiping the blood off my face to see Hermione jumping up and down in excitement. Her face didn't even fall at my appearance. Neville rose too, brushing himself off. Though he had a few new bruises, I didn't see any blood on him as the Slytherins slunk away.

"We have to go to Harry, come on!" Hermione urged, grabbing my arm and ignoring my extreme nosebleed. We ran down to Harry where a bunch of Gryffindors were lifting him onto their shoulders. I didn't see Snape anywhere, though I did see Dumbledore leaving the field. We carried him to the Quidditch shed and I turned to Hermione happily.

"Know anyway to fix this little problem?" I asked cheerfully. Hermione laughed and waved her wand, mumbling, "Episkey!" Suddenly my nose cracked into place and I groaned, holding onto it as it started to bleed even more.

"Sorry about that, I wanted to fix the actual nose first. Scourgify!" Hermione waved her wand again. I felt the blood clean up from my face and looked down to see it was gone from my robes, but I still needed to stem the continual flow of blood until it stopped, so I grabbed a towel from the Quiddtich shed and held it up to my nose.

"Back to the Common Room? I don't know where Harry went off to but we should meet him there," Hermione continued. I nodded and we headed up there together.

Neville was in the Common Room waiting for us, beaming through his black eye and many other bruises. I hugged him, as did Hermione, and we all laughed.

"Thanks for fighting Crabbe and Goyle with me, I probably would be passed out now if it weren't for you," Neville managed to say through the bruise on his cheek.

"No trouble at all my friend," I grinned, "I'm glad Malfoy's baby makers are a little damaged after today's events."

Neville burst into endless giggles at my remark and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"What? He never came back up and I kicked him very hard," I winked at her, "Let's hope he's the last of the Malfoys."

Neville couldn't stop giggling and even Hermione cracked a smile at that.

Fred and George Weasley then walked into the Common Room, laden down with cakes and other food. I looked at them in amazement.

"How'd you manage that?" I asked, shocked. Fred beamed.

"Ah, Maggie, don't you know how to sneak into the kitchens yet?" Fred shook his head in amusement.

"We have yet to teach our little prodigy that, Freddie," George laughed.

"I'm your prodigy?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Fred and George laughed in unison.

"Forgot to tell her, oops," Fred chortled.

"We're going to hand down the role of official prankster to you once we leave. You'll only have it for about two years but hey, there's no one better for the job than you, Miss Johnson," George did a fake bow and Fred followed suit. I laughed an amazement.

"I assume I'll be required to train for this position?" I asked as they put down the food in the middle of the Common Room, where people ran up to gorge on it.

"Naturally, but we'll be helping you every step of the way," George affirmed.

"Telling you the secrets of the castle, the passageways, the portrait holes, the secret rooms. And, of course, how best to pull pranks," Fred continued.

"We knew the moment we actually had a conversation with you that you weren't prefect material," George continued, "I mean, punching Malfoy in the face?"

"Classic," Fred nodded, "Your disregard for rules and regulations is to be admired!"

"And we do need someone to continue the legacy when we leave," George paused, "And then it will fall to you to find your own replacement."

"I will be happy to help in any way I can, boys," I laughed. Fred and George nodded in their approval.

"We knew you'd be on board. Next time we plan on utilizing our intimate knowledge of the castle, we'll come to you," Fred and George bowed and left to go talk with Lee Jordan. I laughed in amazement and Hermione just shook her head next to me, simply silently indicating her disapproval rather than shoving it in my face. It was this little thing we were working on, more commonly known as subtlety. Neville was giggling again and turned to eat one of the cakes from the table.

"Where is Harry?" Hermione commented as we both turned to follow Neville's wonderful example.

"I really have no idea, I haven't seen him since he went to go change," I frowned, "Should we be worried?"

"Nah," Hermione shrugged, "Maybe he got distracted by something.

At that moment the portrait hole opened and Harry came through. He found me and Hermione and dragged us back with him through the corridors to an empty classroom, which he checked for Peeves prior to entry.

"What is it?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"Seriously, Harry, where've you been?" I continued, "You've missed quite a lot and…"

"Never mind that now," Harry shook his head, "I was at the changing rooms and I saw Snape going out into the Forbidden Forest, so I followed him on my broom. He was threatening Professor Quirrell, talking about the Philosopher's Stone, and trying to find out about his 'hocus-pocus', and then he left and Quirrell looked terrified. So we were right, it _is_ the Philosopher's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy, and I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, and Quirrell will have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through…"

"So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" Hermione whispered.

Harry nodded mournfully and I frowned. The plot of Snape versus Quirrell had thickened and I still was clueless. I couldn't explain why I thought Snape was innocent beyond his kind treatment of me and my family (other than Harry,) but I knew that was no excuse. Was I just biased? Was it really Snape doing all these things and I had been blinded? Was that why Snape was buttering me up, so I wouldn't see what he really was up to?

Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to worry over it. The stone seemed to be relatively safe, as Fluffy was still growling from inside the third-floor corridor. And the end of the year exams were drawing near, and Hermione was obsessed with study schedules and color coded notes and organizing their time. I was worried, don't get me wrong, but Hermione's constant obsession was driving me mental.

The teachers were of a similar vein, and I was constantly swamped with homework. Out of all my subjects, the only ones that came easily were transfiguration and Herbology. All the rest- Defense, Charms, Potions, Astrology- were driving me even more mental as I tried to imprint the information into my brain.

We had formed giant clusters in the library, with me, Harry, Hermione, Neville, Dean Thomas, and Siobhan O'Rourke teaming up to study. Eventually Ron and Seamus and Lavender and Parvati joined up with us, making us a right little club of first year Gryffindors all cramming together.

One day, I looked up to see Hagrid walking out, hiding something behind his back. Harry and Hermione looked up at him in equal confusion.

"What are you doing in the library?" I asked in amazement.

"Jus' lookin'," he replied rather suspiciously, "An' what're you lot up ter? Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"

"Oh we figured that out weeks ago, _and _ we know what the dog's guarding, it's a Philosopher's St-"

"Shhh!" Hagrid hissed, "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact, about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy –" Harry continued.

"SHHH!" Haggrid insisted, "Listen – come an' see me later. I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh –"

"See you later, then," Harry dismissed cheerfully.

"What was he hiding?" Hermione asked immediately.

I realized, based on my own library wanderings, what it was. It was the dragon section.

"Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons," I whispered.

"Really? Whatever for?" Hermione gasped.

"He's always wanted one, told me so at my birthday party," Harry commented.

"But it's against the law," Hermione whispered, "I read about it, it was outlawed in 1709 – you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous."

"But there aren't wild dragons in _Britain_?" Harry gasped.

"Of course there are, Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks," I explained, "I read about them when we first got here."

"What on earth is Hagrid up to, then?" Hermione shook her head.

"Whatever it is, he should talk to Maggie about it," Harry laughed, "She's been obsessed with dragons since we were little."

"I can't even deny it," I shook my head sadly, "I've always wanted one."

"Well, you're at least sane enough to realize you can't have one. Hagrid, on the other hand…" Hermione paused sadly. Harry shook his head and I smiled a little, not letting on that I still hadn't given up the dream.

Unfortunately, I was bogged down in a charms essay that I found difficult to work through, and Harry and Hermione headed down to Hagrid's hut alone. Neville tried to help me with the essay, but he was only slightly less confused about it than I was, and I found myself wishing that Hermione wasn't off on an adventure while I was stuck trying to figure this out.

Neville finally gave up on it and went upstairs to go to bed, me waving him off while filled with melancholy. I looked up to see Fred and George approach me.

"Ah, sorry about your little problem of homework, good Johnson," Fred shook his head sadly.

"And we were going to go off on an adventure, too," George sighed, "A real pity."

I groaned, "I've already turned down an adventure with Hermione and Harry. Could you _please_ help me before you go, so I can come too?"

"I dunno. Georgie, it would be considered academic dishonesty for us to help her out with her homework and not let her figure it out on her lonesome," Fred shook his head.

"I know, and we set such store by the rules, good Fred," George responded.

"Oh come on, that's bull and you know it. Can you just help me with this spell?" I begged.

Fred and George seemed to mull it over for another moment before grinning and sitting down with me, explaining all about the severing charm and explaining how to perform it. It took an hour, but I finally got it and finished the essay.

"Thanks guys," I sighed, "I'm horrific at charms."

"We hear you're a daft hand at transfiguration, though," George frowned.

"Yeah, I dunno what the difference is for me," I shook my head, "So what's this adventure?"

"Well, we were going down to explore this new passageway that leads from, what we hear, the first floor directly to the seventh, and we thought you'd want to come," Fred beamed. I nodded eagerly and we all left the Common Room, heading down to the first floor. We went through the portrait of the old faerie man after Fred whispered to it in a very delicate voice (I wasn't sure, but I think that was the only way one could say the password; at any rather to this day it is how I say the password to that portrait) _Glitterflies_ and it opened rather slowly. I grinned at the twins and followed them through the passageway, coming out directly onto the seventh floor.

"Sweet, that _will_ be useful," Fred nodded, looking at the portrait.

"What else is there to see?" I asked curiously.

"Well, you must swear to secrecy Maggie," George responded seriously.

"Yes, we know you're awfully close to that cousin of yours, but you mustn't tell him anything," Fred nodded.

"Same for your bushy haired friend and the clumsy one," George finished.

"In fact, let's make it a policy that you tell nothing, here on out, that we tell you to anyone, except Lee Jordan because we've probably already told him," Fred amended.

"Not even Ron? Not like I would, but…" I frowned.

"Especially not Ron," Fred gagged, sticking his tongue out dramatically.

"Why not?" I laughed.

"Ron would just muck it up, tell someone by accident about things or utilize them in full view of a teacher. Not to mention, he is just as much a goody goody as our dear older brother Percy. I never see him doing anything to get into trouble," George sighed dramatically.

"We failed him, we did. At least Ginny will turn out OK," Fred shook his head.

"Ginny?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Our younger sister. She's in the year below Ron and the youngest in the family. She'll be a good old fashioned troublemaker," Fred responded proudly.

"Alright, I promise to tell no one," I nodded, "I swear."

"Do you solemnly swear?" George asked, a slight twinkle in his eye.

"Yeah… sure," I laughed.

"Well then, we'll let you in on a little secret," Fred beamed, pulling out a sheet of parchment from his back pocket of his jeans. I looked at him incredulously as he pulled out his wand and tapped the sheet of paper, saying, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

The parchment suddenly started having lines appear, but they were clearly drawings, and well organized ones at that. I watched in amazement as the parchment turned into a full blown map of Hogwarts.

"What the _hell?_" I gasped.

"This is the Marauder's Map," George declared.

"Nicked it in our first year from Filch's office, we were in there for a slight misdemeanor," Fred continued.

"We haven't quite memorized it yet, but once we have we'll pass it on proudly to you, good Maggie," George finished.

I looked at them in amazement, "And it shows everything?"

"And everyone," Fred nodded.

"What they're doing, where they are, who they're with," George pointed out, "See? At Hagrid's hut? Your friends are there with Hagrid," he pointed to the small hut on the map, where sure enough three little names appeared- _Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Rubeus Hagrid_.

"Well that's brilliant," I whispered. George and Fred laughed.

"Course it is. And we'll live up to our promise, but it'll take a while to memorize every passageway in the school and leading out of it," Fred declared.

"When you're done, you tap it and say Mischief Managed so not just anyone can do it," George explained as he tapped the parchment and it erased itself.

"Excellent," I nodded, "Simply excellent."

"We thought you'd agree," Fred beamed, "Now, shall we show her the kitchens George?"

"I think we shall, Fred," George nodded, "Come along!"

We walked down back to the portrait and along the passageway to come out on the first floor again. We continued along and I couldn't help but ask the inevitable question.

"So, why me? I might have complete disregard for the rules but I've never shown real evidence for pranking," I asked as we headed down to the Entrance Hall.

"Well, to be honest Miss Johnson, we need a successor. An heir to our title of Chief Troublemakers. Generations upon Generations this tradition has lasted, and we can't just pass it down to anyone," George explained.

"It was passed down to us our very first year by a few seventh year Ravenclaws by the names of Herald Burbage, Charlie Nutcombe – who was a girl, actually, it was short for Charlotte –" Fred continued.

"What a woman," George shook his head mournfully, "What a wom_an_."

"Charlie – and this time he was a boy – Dingle, and the Hufflepuff sixth year Nymphadora Tonks, who we could never call by anything other than her surname," Fred finished.

"I've met Tonks, her parents are mates with mine," I interjected.

"Ah, she was brilliant. She worked with us her seventh year and helped us truly gain the title of Troublemakers. She's training up to be an Auror now, how ironic…" George sighed.

"Auror?" I asked, looking at them in confusion.

"Dark Wizard catcher. Anyways, they trained us up to be the best we could be. Lee is part of our group but he is a secondary troublemaker. Those four, though, they ruled the school. True masterminds. And they couldn't find their heirs until we came along… there was simply no one suitable enough," Fred shook his head mournfully.

"They were beginning to think that there was no hope – they were praying that Tonks would find someone her seventh year but they weren't hopeful. And then we came along, to answer their prayers," George bowed dramatically.

"We knew we had to find our successor and fine-tune him or her as soon as we could, and not let any potential first years waste away their talents over the years while we relished our title, as our ancestors did," Fred shook his head.

"You do have a complete disregard for the rules, which is of course the most important prerequisite. And you also are a very sarcastic, humorous young lady who doesn't care much for what those around her think of her, which is very important. You're clever – extremely so, we might add – and have the ability to think up magnificent pranks," George continued.

"You also have a complete disregard for authority, which we have observed in your treatment of our dear brother and our wonderful professors. You're curious, determined, and perfect for the job, once we train you up a bit," Fred explained.

"We just need to train you in the art of pranking, which shouldn't be too hard. It's a very short step from punching your enemy in the face to embarrassing him in secret in front of his peers. You have the creativity and cleverness to jump the gap, we just need to instill in you the finesse," George finished.

"Were these Marauders that made up the map troublemakers of old?" I asked curiously as we went down a corridor just to the right of the main staircase.

"Of course, good student. They were the greatest troublemakers of all, though we know not their names. All troublemakers before them were building up for their arrival, setting the stage and providing their foundation. All troublemakers afterwards owe their success, their techniques, and their style ultimately to them," Fred answered.

"Bit like Shakespeare, actually," George nodded, "Now, watch this."

He then went up to a large painting of fruit and tickled the pear on it. The pear giggled and became a door handle, which George pulled open. Fred gestured dramatically for me and I followed the other twin inside of the door, into the kitchens.

I gasped in amazement. There were hundreds of little elves working tirelessly, and five tables that matched the ones upstairs perfectly in size and location. The room was exactly the size of the Great Hall.

"Masters Weasley!" a little elf squeaked, running up to us, "Who is this you bring? And does Masters Weasley need food?"

"Nah, Emmie, we are just showing our friend Miss Johnson the kitchens," Fred laughed, "But thank you."

"Shall I get Masters Weasley and Miss Johnson some tea?" Emmie insisted.

"No, no Emmie, it's fine," George waved her off, "We don't need anything and we're about to leave, truly."

"Alright, sirs and miss," Emmie bowed and scampered off. I looked up at Fred and George in shock.

"Oh right – that's a house elf. Many places with old wizarding families have them as servants. Some of these families treat them horribly, but when they're treated nicely they really do genuinely love to serve, like here at Hogwarts," George explained.

"Oh," I mumbled, but it didn't really sit right with me as we left the kitchens.

When we got back to the Common Room, Hermione and Harry were sitting and doing their homework.

"How was Hagrid? Did you find out anything?" I asked eagerly, sitting with them as Fred and George left to go talk to Lee Jordan.

"Nothing except all the professors, including Snape, helped to guard the stone. That and only Hagrid and Dumbledore know how to get past Fluffy," Harry explained.

"Nothing about the dragon?" I frowned.

Hermione and Harry looked at each other for a moment before answering, "Nah, he was just reading up on them."

I looked at them suspiciously before replying, "Darn. You know how much they fascinate me, Harry."

"Course I do, and it is a real shame," Harry nodded. There was a long awkward pause.

"What were you up to with Fred and George, Maggie?" Hermione finally asked.

"Oh nothing, just talking and exploring," I answered, deciding to be equally evasive. There was another awkward pause as I collected my books and bag from the table, declaring that I wanted to go to bed.

And so, over the next few weeks before finals, Harry and Hermione would often disappear for long hours, nowhere to be found. I would either be working on homework with Neville during those hours or being trained up by Fred and George. They thought, of course, that I had absolutely no clue where they were – but I knew, thanks to the Marauders Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. They were at Hagrid's hut.

_Better this way, _I thought sadly, _can't be attached to Harry's hip forever_. But that didn't change how sad I was that they weren't including me in on this.

My fury finally burst when I saw Ron Weasley, of all people, was with them. Fred and George were as clueless as I was.

I didn't say anything to Harry or Hermione (and especially Ron) when they got back, but when they entered the Common Room I walked past them to join Fred and George without a word, going down to explore some passageways in the dungeons. Not that they got to know that.

And thus began my period of openly ignoring Harry and Hermione. In class the next day I purposely partnered with Neville during Charms, Herbology (though I always had in Herbology,) and Potions. Harry watched these developments unfold with shock and slight hurt, but I did nothing to acknowledge him. I couldn't believe I had been phased out. And Hermione hated Ron the same as she always had – they argued endless in Herbology and out of the corner of my eye I saw it was driving Harry mad.

I continued my training with Fred and George, now learning some really useful spells to put on unsuspecting Slytherins. They explained their plans to try and form a joke shop and showed me the charms they were working on for it – invisibility charms, charms that made you ill, illusions and other such things. I was very impressed with their work.

For some reason, Ron had to go to the Hospital Wing. And yet, I still didn't talk to Harry and Hermione and they still didn't explain why they were always at Hagrid's Hut. And that Saturday night I went to bed, happy after another day of pranking an annoying Slytherin, not thinking that anything strange could happen whilst I slept.

When I woke up and went down to breakfast, I saw that Gryffindor was down a hundred and fifty points from yesterday. When I saw this, I did a double take like most students. Fred and George walked up behind me and frowned at the sight as well.

"Georgie, I don't remember loosing so many points last night, do you?" Fred frowned.

"Come to think of it, we lost _no_ points, Freddie," George agreed.

"What about you, Maggie?" Fred looked down at me. I looked up at him in confusion, shaking my head.

"Nothing to do with me, I went to bed like a good little girl," I curtseyed and they both laughed.

"Despite your clear sarcasm, I believe that you went to bed," George paused, "So who did this?"

I looked over to see Neville walking down the stairs, tears flowing down his cheeks. Immediately concerned, I ran up to him on the steps.

"Neville, what's happened? What's wrong?" I asked, walking with him down all the way. He shook his head silently. Fred and George looked at one another in confusion.

"Neville, what could have happened?" I begged as we went into the Great Hall. He shook his head again and I let him pass, dumbfounded.

"I have never been more confused in my life," Fred commented as the boy went and sat down at a table and barely ate a thing.

"I second that statement," George shook his head.

"It's been thirded," I narrowed my eyes, "And I'm willing to bet Malfoy had something to do with it."

"Sort of, but it was mainly my fault," a defeated, familiar voice called out behind me. I whirled around to see Harry walk up to me, looking like he had just committed an atrocious crime.

"What is it?" I asked calmly.

"We're talking again, then?" Harry sighed.

"If you're going to stop running off to Hagrid's Hut with _Ron Weasley_ of all people and not include me in on the secret, then yes, we can talk again," I snapped.

Harry let out an even heavier sigh and I raised my eyebrows.

"Time to go, Freddie?" George asked behind me.

"Most definitely, good George," Fred answered, and they both went into the Great Hall to leave the two of us alone.

"Let me explain everything, alright?" Harry begged. I nodded and he told me everything – Hagrid's dragon, how he and Hermione didn't want to tell me about it because they didn't want me to encourage Hagrid (and, after some reflection, I realized I most definitely would have and they were right to keep me out of it,) how Malfoy saw it and they had to send it away with Charlie Weasley's mates, who worked with dragons alongside him (so they had to include Ron so he could talk to Charlie about it, Harry had remembered what his brother had done,) how they snuck out in the middle of the night to transport the dragon and the only reason Ron didn't was because he was bit by the creature, how Malfoy had planned on getting them in trouble and Neville had overheard, hoping to help out and warn them, and how all four had been caught and twenty points taken from Malfoy, a hundred and fifty from Gryffindor and all four had received detention.

He said the last part in a whisper, probably hoping that the others passing us wouldn't hear him. And I understood why. My God, everyone was going to hate him.

"I'm really sorry, Maggie, for shutting you out about it. I just… it was bad enough having to deal with Hagrid and my god, you would have acted just the same around the thing. You adore Albus enough! I didn't… I'm sorry, I should have at least told you what was going on and asked you not to encourage Hagrid or something," Harry shook his head sadly.

"Ah, it's alright. I understand," I sighed, "And you don't need me mad at you when the entire school's going to be fairly soon."

"Everyone except Slytherin," Harry muttered irritably, "I just feel terrible that I dragged Neville into this mess."

"I know," I paused, "I'll talk to him if you want. How's Hermione doing?"

"Terrible I expect," Harry sighed, "This is going to be horrific. How've you been?"

"Fine, hanging out with Fred and George for the most part," I paused, "And before you ask, I've been sworn to secrecy, so don't wonder about what we've been doing."

"Alright," Harry laughed very weakly as we went inside the Great Hall. I sat across from Neville and I forced a plate of pancakes at him.

"Neville, there really was a dragon, it wasn't a joke to get Malfoy in trouble," Harry whispered in a hushed voice. Neville nodded weakly.

"They wouldn't do such a thing, and if they had they wouldn't take pleasure in you suffering too," I murmured, "Alright?"

Neville nodded again and poked at his pancakes.

I wasn't used to being liked more than my brother. Come to think of it, I wasn't used to being liked more than Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom _and_ Harry, but I was immediately upon the castle-wide discovery of their transgression. All Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors hated the three of them for losing the Gryffindor lead and ensuring the cup for Slytherin. Only Ron Weasley and me actually still liked them – Ron however little for Hermione and Neville, but obviously a lot for Harry; simply because he knew what had been going on. I stood by them too, but Fred and George refused to discuss them in my presence for fear of pissing me off with what they said. Quidditch Practice had apparently turned horrific for Harry and Hermione never answered a question in class again that year.

So we spent our time studying an immense amount before exams were to start, focusing on that rather than on my friends' new notoriety. I didn't tell my friends about all the people who came up to me, demanding why I still associated with them and claiming that they thought I would have lost maybe at most fifty points at a time, but surely not this much, and I should have reined in my cousin.

_I _should have reined _him_ in.

The week before exams began, Harry came up to me and Hermione and explained in a hushed whisper that Quirrell was beginning to crack under the pressure of Snape- nay, that he _had_ cracked and Snape now knew how to get past Quirrell's obstacle.

"There's still Fluffy, though," Hermione insisted.

"Maybe Snape's found out without Hagrid," Harry shook his head, "I bet there's a book in this huge library about getting past a three-headed dog. But what do we do _now_?"

"Go to Dumbledore," Hermione answered promptly, "We should have done so ages ago."

"We have no _proof!_" Harry argued, "Quirrell's too scared to back us up, Snape's got an alibi and of course they're going to believe him and not us. Dumbledore'll think we made it up to get him sacked, seeing as we all hate him. Flich won't help us and he'll want us thrown out anyway. And not to mention, we're not supposed to know about the Stone _or_ Fluffy, and I don't feel like getting into more trouble."

Hermione sighed and nodded and I was forced to agree.

Later on, Harry Hermione and Neville had to serve their detentions. I waited up late at night, studying for charms as always, declining Fred and George's invitation to explore (I needed to wait for my other friends, and they understood.) When they returned, Harry had yet another fantastic story to tell that I had missed – of centaurs and the Forbidden Forest, that Voldemort was drinking Unicorn blood and things were darker than we had even feared.

I didn't let slip that I still wanted to explore the Forest and that Fred and George were going to do so with me next term.

"Snape wants the stone for Voldemort… and Voldemort's waiting in the forest… and all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich…" Harry whispered, "Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done so… Bane was furious… he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen… They must show that Voldemort's coming back… Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me… I suppose that's written in the stars as well. So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone, and then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off… Well, I suppose Bane will be happy," Harry finished. I reached over and gently gripped Harry's arm in similar fear.

Hermione looked terrified, but said, "Harry, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."

We continued talking until the dawn, but I went to bed after Harry. He came downstairs and showed me that the Invisibility Cloak had been returned to him after losing it during his midnight wandering. I looked at him in surprise, and went to bed, awaiting the end of exams, term, and a very frightening year indeed.

AN: Alright, this one and the last one are definitely my two favorite chapters in this thing so far. I love writing about Maggie's friendship with Fred and George; first off, it's about time she has friends that aren't really Harry's friends, and second off, there rapport and conversations becomes more and more excellent as time goes on. Her three best relationships are her ones with Fred and George, then Neville, then Harry.

The next chapter or the one after that will be the last chapter of Philosopher's Stone, though I plan to start Chamber of Secrets immediately afterwards. It'll all be connected into one story. Also, I apologize for the fact that I most likely will not update on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I'm going on a family vacation and not bringing my laptop or the Harry Potter books, so the odds of me managing to type out crudely something on my iPhone are rather... small. If anything, I'll update on Saturday a chapter I write out on Thursday in my free time after finishing the chapter for today, but even then I doubt it - I'm going to have to pack and all that.

Shout Out Time! Thanks to sweetkitty, dbzgtfan2004, and ninjatechbackstage for following this story. Let me know what you think of this chapter! And, as always, thanks a million and one times to TA-twinArmageddons, DreamCatcher1991, and dbzgtfan2004 for reviewing. Again, keep me updated on your thoughts for this one! Finally, thanks a lot to Viola Potterhead Girl, for her lovely review in a PM of the last chapter as well as following and favoriting my other Harry Potter AU fic, Hand Magic, _and_ favoriting me as an author, which completely made my day.

Let me know what you think of this chapter, guys! I am rather inordinately proud of it.

Please review!


	9. Ch 8: Final Exams to End of Term, 1992

Chapter Eight: Final Exams – End of Term, 1992

No one could ever joke and say that Hogwarts Final Exams were a piece of cake. In fact, they were rather brutal, and I was fairly amazed that I managed to study and focus on them when I was absolutely convinced that there was someone out to kill my brother every second of every day. It was absolutely terrifying and the only way I managed to distract myself was by transfiguring little objects for practice even after the transfiguration final was done.

Every classroom was much, much too hot. I refused to wear my uniform sweater, instead just showing up in my white polo shirt with the sleeves rolled up and my tie very loose around my neck. I didn't even bother with robes anymore and none of the teachers found the heart to argue with me about it. The written exams were thus the worst, with me slaving away over a piece of parchment trying to recall everything I had ever learned.

The practical exams weren't too bad, though the charms one was the worst. My pineapple barely managed to dance across the desk, but I felt at the very least as though I had passed. For transfiguration I had to turn a mouse into a snuffbox, and I do believe I passed that one with top marks, as my snuffbox had an extremely intricate design of a dragon on the cover that McGonagall looked very impressed with. For potions we had to make a forgetfulness potion, which I feel I managed to put together alright – I wasn't great at potions but I wasn't terrible either, and Snape didn't seem to hate me so he encouraged what improvement I showed in our tea sessions.

Harry was always rubbing his scar in irritation, which had never really happened before, and he always had nightmare face when we met in the morning for breakfast. It concerned me and Hermione alike, though Neville was rather clueless about the whole thing, as focused as he was to learn potions and try to pass it.

Our last exam was History of Magic, a subject I quite hoped to be done with in the near future (but knew that simply wouldn't be the case.) After the hour of hell I felt that final liberation that came with being done with exams and not knowing what your marks were, not having to worry about how terrible I had done. I ran up to Harry after the end of the exam and high fived him, hugged Hermione, and Neville and I spun around in joy. Fred and George walked by with a rather smoking vial of some sort of potion and laughed at our inordinate glee before continuing on.

"That was far easier than I thought it would be," Hermione commented as we went down to the lake, all four of us, and collapsed upon the grass, "I needn't have learned about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfirc the Eager."

"Would you stop going over our exams once they're done?" I laughed, "History's never really been my thing here."

"At home you loved muggle history," Harry commented, plucking some grass from the ground.

"Fine. Here we have a ghost teaching us about dead people and it's not really my thing," I laughed, tossing a ball up into the air and catching it repeatedly as Neville lay in the grass and most definitely took a nap. Fred, George and Lee were off in the distance ticking the giant squid, and I had half a mind to join them when I realized that I simply didn't have the urge to get up and they could continue with that shenanigan by themselves.

Harry continued to rub his scar and I looked at him in concern.

"I wish I knew what this _means_," Harry groaned, "It's happened before, but never as often as this… I think it's a warning, it means danger's coming…"

"Well I wouldn't worry about it, Harry," I commented, "I mean…" Neville was snoring next to us but I still leaned in a little to whisper, "The Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around, and we don't know if Snape knows how to get past Fluffy. And Neville will become the head of the Potions League before Hagrid lets down Dumbledore."

Harry nodded, but still looked troubled as we all lounged in the grass. I had half a mind to go upstairs and get my bow and arrows for some practice (I was improving every time, thank you, and was hitting the bulls-eye most often now,) when Harry jumped up in alarm. Hermione and I looked at him and Neville continued to nap complacently.

"I've just thought of something, we've got to go and see Hagrid, now," Harry gasped in shock. He started walking quickly towards Hagrid's hut and I got to my feet to follow. Hermione hastily woke up Neville and explained to him that we were going to be gone for a moment and then caught up to us. Harry had been waiting for her to explain further.

"Don't' you think it's a bit odd, that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't' you think? Why didn't I see it before?" Harry groaned as we reached the hut, where Hagrid was sitting outside and shelling peas.

"Ah, Maggie, do yeh want ter practice with the bow? I can go get the target…" Hagrid greeted cheerfully.

"No, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?" Harry hurriedly cut me off from accepting Hagrid's invitation.

"Dunno," Hagrid responded, "He wouldn' take his cloak off."

I looked at him in shock for blatantly accepting such a thing from a suspicious stranger.

"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head – that's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."

Harry didn't appear to be able to stand and sat next to the bowl of peas.

"What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?" Harry continued insistently.

"Mighta come up," Hagrid was frowning, "Yeah, he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here… He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look after… so I told him… an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon… an' then… I can' remember too well, cause he kept buyin' me drinks… Let's see… yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted… but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home… So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy…"

"Was he… keen on Fluffy?" I asked calmly.

"Well – yeah – how many three headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep – I shouldn'ta told yeh that! Forget I said it! Hey – where're yeh goin?"

I had grabbed Hermione's arm after having mine grabbed by Harry and we ran off to the castle to the entrance hall as fast as we could.

"We've got to go to Dumbledore," Harry gasped, "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape or Voldemort, I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Where's his office? Do either of you know?"

We both shook our heads and looked around wildly, unable to find any sort of sign or something pointing the way. Harry looked determined but we all whirled around to see Professor McGonagall as she called out, "What are you three doing inside?"

"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," Hermione responded bravely.

"See Professor Dumbledore? Why?" Professor McGonagall replied, her eyes clearly displaying her suspicion.

""It's sort of secret," Harry sighed, but Professor McGonagall was definitely not pleased with that answer.

"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago. He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once," McGonagall replied coldly.

"He's _gone_?" I gasped, "_Now_?"

"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Johnson, he has many demands on his time…"

"But this is important!" Harry interjected.

"Something you have to say is more important than the Minstry of Magic, Potter?"

"Look," Harry sighed, "Professor, it's about the Philospher's Stone…"

Professor McGonagall dropped all her bucks and she didn't bother to pick them up from the ground.

"What… How do you know…" McGonagall spluttered.

"Professor, we've been… well, we know that someone is going to try and steal the Stone, and we really need to talk to Professor Dumbledore," I begged, hoping that McGonagall's fondness of me would help plead our case.

"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow. I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected," McGonagall replied firmly.

"But, Professor…" I begged.

"Johnson, I know what I'm talking about. I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine," she replied irritably.

"It's tonight," Harry whispered, "Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Minitry of magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."

"But what can we –" I began.

Hermione suddenly gasped. I wheeled around with Harry to see Professor Snape standing above us.

"Good afternoon," he greeted smoothly. I looked at him and, while grimacing, mumbled something about a good afternoon to him too.

"You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," he commented with a strange smile.

"We were…" Harry looked at a loss for words.

"You want to be more careful. Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Gryffindor really can't afford to lose any more points, can it? Be warned, Potter – any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you," and Snape was gone. Harry turned to us, looking exceptionally grim.

"Right, here's what we've got to do. One of us has got to keep an eye on Snape – wait outside the staff room and follow him if he leaves it. Hermione, you'd better do that," Harry ordered.

"Why me?"

"You can be pretending to wait for a Professor, freaking out about your exam grade," I explained, "Talk to Professor Flitwick about charms or something."

"Alright then," Hermione nodded.

"And we'd better stay outside the third-floor corridor," Harry ordered me, "Come on."

But the moment we got there we saw Professor McGonagall, and this time, she was furious.

"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of enchantments!" she roared, "Enough of this nonsense! If I hear you've come anywhere near here again, I'll take another fifty points from Gryffindor!"

We slunk back to the Common Room, and on the way we ran into Ron Weasley.

"Hey Harry," he greeted, then turned to me, "Hey… Maggie." He looked very awkward about his greeting.

"Hey," we both responded, Harry as cheerfully as he could, me not making the same effort.

"How are things?" Ron continued as we all started walking together to the Common Room.

"Well, do you remember the stuff I told you about ages ago? About the Philosopher's Stone and all that?" Harry began. I looked at him in shock, unaware he had shared everything with Ron, and wondering why in the blazes he had decided to do so.

"Yeah, what about it? Surely Snape's not going after it?" Ron asked as we reached the Common Room.

"He is, tonight," Harry sighed.

Ron's eyes widened, "Anything I can do to help? I know you're worried he's doing it to help… _You Know Who_," he said the last part in a whisper.

"I don't know if…" Harry paused, and we turned to see Hermione run into the Common Room.

"I'm sorry, Harry! Snape came out and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was waiting for Flitwick, and Snape went to get him, and I've only just got away, I don't know where Snape went," Hermione wailed.

"Well, that's it then. I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first," Harry sighed.

"You're mental," I muttered.

"Completely mad," Ron agreed.

"You can't! After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You'll be expelled!" Hermione gasped.

"SO WHAT?" Harry shouted, "Don't' you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, then I'll have to go home Maggie and wait for Voldemort to get me there, or I guess I'll have to go on the run because I won't want your family to die for me, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?" Harry glared at us all angrily.

"You're right, Harry," Hermione mumbled.

"I'll use the Invisibility Cloak, it's just lucky I got it back," Harry declared.

"But will it cover all four of us?" Ron asked.

"All… all four of us?" Harry whispered.

"Look, do you honestly thing Hermione and I will let you go alone?" I shook my head.

"And I could help, the more the better I reckon, and since I already know and I've been here for this whole spiel…" Ron explained. Even I couldn't argue with the idea that more people would help, despite my dislike of Ron Weasley.

"How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us? I'd better go and look through my books, there might be something useful…" Hermione paused.

"But if we get caught, you three will get expelled, too," Harry sighed.

"Not if I can help it," Hermione replied grimly, "Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They're not throwing me out after that."

"Can I borrow twelve percents?" I joked lightly. In the darkness of the situation, and the direness of what we were about to do, and the complete out of place nature of my comment, Harry just burst out laughing and had to steady himself against the wall. Ron and Hermione also burst into fits of giggles and I felt right proud of myself.

We waited ages for the Common Room to clear out that evening. I changed into shorts and a long-sleeved shirt, Hermione changed into a dress, Harry into a flannel shirt and khakis, and Ron into jeans and a t-shirt as we sat around waiting. Fred and George asked me if I wanted to come with them on another adventure, but this time I regretfully declined again. They looked at the four of us suspiciously as we sat around the fire, aware of my dislike of their younger brother, but apparently decided to let it go and left to go discuss with Lee Jordon before finally going to bed.

"Better get the cloak," Ron muttered. Harry nodded and went upstairs to the dormitory, returning with his flute as well as the cloak. I decided that if we needed my archery skills we were pretty much doomed and didn't go up to my dormitory.

"We'd better put the cloak on here, and make sure it covers all four of us – if Filch spots one of our feet wandering long on its own…" Harry commented.

"What are you doing?" I heard a voice call out from the corner of the room. An armchair turned around and Neville was sitting it, Trevor the toad in his lap as he turned to look at us.

"Nothing, Neville, nothing," Harry commented hurriedly, putting the Invisibility Cloak behind his back.

"You're going out again," Neville stated firmly.

"No, no, no," Hermione insisted, "No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Neville?"

"You can't go out," Neville continued, "You'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."

"You don't understand," Harry begged, "This is important."

"I won't let you do it," Neville got up and went to stand in front of the portrait hole, "I'll – I'll fight you!"

"Neville, please get away from the hole, please," I begged, stepping forward.

"I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"

"But not to _us_," Ron groaned, "Neville, you don't know what you're doing."

I started walking forward, a brilliant idea in my mind to try and distract Neville. He dropped the toad and I felt my heart pound in my ears.

"Go on then, try and hit me!" Neville shouted at me, figuring that's what I was about to do, "I'm ready!"

I finally walked up to him, put my hands on his shoulders firmly, and clumsily pressed my lips to his. I broke away, feeling extraordinarily awkward, and Neville looked at me in shock before falling to the floor in a faint.

I turned back to Harry, Ron and Hermione with a grimace. Hermione had her hand to her mouth, Ron was shaking his head and Harry put his hands together repeatedly in a slow clap.

"Well, never thought I'd do that in a million years," I commented lightly, "Shall we?"

"Maggie, I love you, and I don't tell you this enough," Harry laughed, taking out the cloak and pulling it on over the four of us.

We crept through the corridors silently, sulkily. I felt like with every corner we turned there would be another obstacle to stop us in our tracks, but there seemed to be a great lack of enemies as we walked. We passed by Mrs. Norris quite smoothly, before running into Peeves, my least favorite spirit of the castle.

"Who's there?" he called out as we walked towards him, "Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie? Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen," he declared.

"Peeves," Harry suddenly whispered hoarsely, "the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible."

I remembered how the only ghost that could control Peeves was the Slytherin Ghost, the Bloody Baron. Harry's impression was surprisingly spot-on.

"So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr. Baron, sir. My mistake, my mistake – I didn't see you – of course I didn't, you're invisible – forgive old Peevsie his little joke, sir," Peeves stammered quickly.

"I have business here, Peeves. Stay away from this place tonight," Harry croaked.

"I will, sir, I most certainly will. Hope your business goes well, Baron, I'll not bother you," Peeves agreed, going up and flying away at once.

"_Brilliant,_ Harry!" Ron whispered.

We finally got to the third floor, where the door was already ajar. Harry turned to the three of us and took a deep breath.

"If you want to go back, I won't blame you. You can take the cloak, I won't need it now," Harry whispered.

"Don't be an idiot," I hissed.

"We're coming," Hermione agreed.

"We've come this far," Ron nodded.

Harry pushed the door open and the dog immediately looked around, sniffing in our direction but unable to see us. At its feet was a harp that Snape must have left behind.

Harry put Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew, playing a small little tune that I'm sure he had been practicing since Christmas. Eventually the dog's eyes began to droop and he stopped growling, tottering on his paws and falling to the ground fast asleep.

"Keep playing," I ordered, sneaking out of the cloak and creeping to the trapdoor. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed as I looked over at the door.

"We can pull it open, who wants to go first?" I called softly.

"Better you then us," Ron and Hermione replied and Harry nodded vigorously as he continued to play. I sighed and stepped carefully over the dog and opened the trapdoor, to see just blackness below.

"We'll just have to drop," I whispered softly, "If anything happens to me…"

Harry started shaking his head furiously and pointed to himself. I groaned and Hermione took the flute from him to continue playing. Harry then walked forward to the trapdoor and looked at us.

"If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, right?" Harry whispered.

"Right," Ron replied.

"See you in a minute, I hope…" and Harry jumped down into the trapdoor and landed on something, as the sound could be heard from up above.

"It's okay!" I heard him call, "It's a soft landing, you can jump!"

I followed immediately, landing next to Harry. Ron followed immediately afterwards and then the music stopped as Hermione jumped next to me.

"We must be miles under the school," Hermione whispered.

I looked down and felt my eyes widen. We were sitting on a plant, a plant that if I wasn't mistaken (and when it came to Herbology, I usually wasn't) was Devil's Snare.

"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," Ron whispered.

"Lucky?" I shouted, "Look at this!" I stood up clumsily away from the plant's tendrils that were reaching out for me, and pointed to Ron and Harry, who each had quite a few creepers latching onto their feet. Hermione followed suit with me in shock.

"Stop moving!" I ordered. Hermione nodded furiously next to me.

"It's Devil's Snare," I continued as Ron and Harry struggled furiously.

"You need to light a fire, but there's no wood!" Hermione flailed her arms in terror.

"ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?" Ron shouted.

"I'm trying to remember the spell… Right!" I pulled out my wand and whispered, "Incendio!" A burst of flames came out of the wand and hit the plant. The plant loosened its grip immediately from the boys and Hermione beamed at me proudly.

"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Maggie," Harry gasped, standing up and running over to me.

"Lucky I spent so many hours cramming for charms that I will never forget those stupid spells," I shook my head sadly.

"I was just completely drawing a blank," Hermione gasped.

"There's no wood, _honestly_," Ron shook his head sadly. Harry pointed towards a stone corridor and we walked along it calmly, all of us with our wands out now.

We continued climbing downward, going further and further under the school. As we continued, I suddenly could hear a soft rustling and clinking sound.

"What do you think it is?" Hermione whispered.

"Sounds like wings…" Ron replied.

"I see some light up ahead," I pointed.

"It looks like something's moving," Harry nodded. We continued to the end of the passageway and came into a large, brightly lit chamber. It was full of small, sparkling birds that flew all over the room. On the opposite side of the room was a large door.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" Ron asked.

"I'm suddenly reminded of that old muggle film, _The Birds_," I hissed softly.

"Great, Maggie, thank you _so_ much for that image," Harry shuddered, "Here, I'll… I'll run."

Harry covered his face, took a deep breath, and sprinted forward. However, nothing swooped down to attack him. He was pulling the handle of the door as we approached, but it appeared locked.

"Now what?" I sighed softly.

"These birds… they can't just be here for decoration," Hermione commented.

We looked up at the glittering birds and all came to the same realization at once.

"They're not birds! They're _keys_!" Harry gasped.

"Winged keys!" I nodded furiously.

"That must mean we've got to find the right key…" Hermione frowned.

"Look, broomsticks!" Ron pointed to the other side of the room.

"There are _hundreds_ of keys," I sighed.

"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one – probably silver, like the handle," Harry commented. We each grabbed a broomstick, though I was rather terrible at flying on one. Hermione equaled my skill. Ron was much better than us, but it was obvious that Harry was the champion.

We weaved around in between the keys and suddenly Harry pointed, calling out, "That one! That big one – there – no, there – with bright blue wings – the feathers are all crumpled on one side."

I looked and I saw it, frowning slightly as to how we were going to manage to get it.

"We've got to close in on it!" Harry called, with clear focus, "Ron, you come at it from above – Hermione, stay below and stop it from going down – Maggie, go to the other side of me and charge when I do. Right, NOW!"

I sped around to Harry's other side but the key managed to dodge me. Still, Harry sped forward, up to the wall, where he trapped the key with a nasty, sickening crunch. I immediately burst into cheers, as did Ron and Hermione.

We all landed and Harry ran to the door, forcing the key in to the lock and turned. The key took flight again once the door was opened, and we all went forward into the next chamber. It was exceptionally dark, but when we walked inside light flooded the room.

We were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen. On the other side were the white pieces, and all the chess pieces had no faces. Behind the white side was another door.

"Now what do we do?" I whispered.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Ron replied, "We've got to play our way across the room."

"How?" Hermione asked.

"We're going to have to be chessmen," Ron continued, walking up to the Queen. He touched the Queen and the stone spread to life. She turned her head to face Ron.

"Do we – ah – have to join you to get across?" Ron asked nervously.

She nodded and Ron turned to us.

"This needs thinking about… I suppose we've got to take the place of four of the black pieces… Don't be offended, but none of you are very good at chess," Ron sighed.

"None taken," I responded cheerfully.

"Glad you came along, now," Hermione smiled weakly.

"Yeah, we would have been rather done for," Harry nodded.

"Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you go next to him instead of that castle, and Maggie, you take the night next to her. I'll be the Queen," Ron declared, "And don't laugh Maggie, it's because she's the most versatile piece, not because I'm a girl."

"Sorry," I held my hand in front of my mouth, "But you know if we get out of this I'm telling Fred and George."

"Oh bloody hell," Ron sighed.

At that moment the chess pieces and walked off the board. We all took our spaces and Ron watched the other side of the board as the white pieces moved first.

Ron directed the pieces, with everyone moving exactly where he sent them. I was used to his chess skills and he lived up to them, though I felt rather terrified. Of course, we figured out that it was actually exactly like Wizard's Chess when the other knight was taken, and the white queen destroyed him and dragged him off the board.

"Had to let that happen," Ron mumbled, "You can take the bishop, now, Hermione, go on."

The white pieces showed no mercy at all. Ron moved about the board like a madman, managing to save me, Harry and Hermione just barely in multiple situations. He took a million pieces and, when he wasn't, he directed me to take a million more. Harry and Hermione were also instructed to do so, but considering they were even worse at chess than me (they were abysmal, I was mediocre, Ron was the King), Ron mainly left them alone.

"We're nearly there…" Ron muttered, studying the board as he looked around. I looked too, trying to help at least a little (though I imagine he didn't need my help,) when I realized it.

"Ron," I whispered.

"Let's see, if Harry goes _there_…" Ron was mumbling.

"Ron," I said, in a louder voice. The white queen's invisible gaze was making my heart pound in my ears.

"And then I direct the other castle to _there_," Ron continued, as if he hadn't heard me.

"RON!" I shouted, turning to face him. He looked startled.

"You _know_ the _only_ sure way," I snapped angrily.

"Well, I refuse," Ron responded, "I'm not letting that happen, to any of us."

"Don't be a prat," I glared, "You'd do it if you were me, wouldn't you?"

"Course I would, but…" I cut Ron off again.

"Well, then, do what must be done," I hissed.

"What is going on?" Hermione asked, sounding terrified.

"Maggie's got to be taken…" Ron said hesitantly, clearly not wanting to admit it.

"NO!" Harry shouted at the top of his lungs, "YOU GIT, IF YOU LET MY SISTER…"

"That's chess!" Ron snapped, "You've got to make some sacrifices!"

"Harry, I want you to stop Voldemort. I want you to get the stone. I don't want you to loose and not get to the other side just for me. Remember the Mirror?" I asked in the calmest voice I could muster, "I want you safe, more than I want to be safe. And you're only safe if you stop Voldemort. So _do it_, and let me take the fall for you."

Harry was shaking his head wildly.

"Well it's not your choice," I replied firmly, and then directed my horse forward to the correct square. I looked up at the white queen and closed my eyes tightly. The last thing I felt was her large sword smashing over my head, and I blacked out.

I woke up to very, very bright lights that made my head hurt even more. I blinked a few times and looked around, finding myself in the Hospital Wing (a place I had managed to avoid up until now, though I knew it was only a matter of time.) I sat up groggily and looked to the bedside table to see a lot of sweets and cards.

"Ah, Maggie. You've woken up," I heard a calm voice call out. I blinked and looked up to see Professor Dumbledore standing over me.

"What happened?" I gasped, looking around wildly, "With the Stone, and Harry and Ron and Hermione, and Voldemort, and…"

"That is quite the harrowing tale," Dumbledore answered with a twinkle in his eye, "I'm sure your friends can tell you all about it, of course."

"So they're OK?" I breathed, "All of them?"

"Well, Harry is still unconscious over there, but he'll come round soon enough," Dumbledore nodded to the bed next to me, "Mr. Weasley returned to fetch me after winning the Chess Match, and Miss Granger did the same once she helped Harry through the final obstacle. I'm sure they'll be happy to see you're alright."

I nodded, frowning, "And Neville?"

"Mr. Longbottom is quite embarrassed over the proceedings but seems to have recovered from his faint in a reasonable manner," Dumbledore's eyes didn't stop twinkling.

"Please, Professor, can you tell me the story?" I finally begged, on the edge of my seat with suspense.

"Oh, that's Harry's prerogative; I wouldn't take away the adventure from him, would I?" Dumbledore laughed, "And don't worry, you've only been out for a day. I managed to get Miss Granger to feed your lizard."

I laughed weakly and turned to eat a chocolate frog from my bedside table. As I examined the table, I saw a large toilet seat with a bow on top of it, a small card reading underneath it _With Love from Fred and George_. I couldn't stop giggling every time I looked at it.

Harry remained unconscious for the rest of the day, and the next, and the day after that. In the meantime I was released from the Wing and went back to the Common Room cheerfully, where Hermione ran forward and hugged me happily.

"I'm _so_ glad you're OK, Maggie!" Hermione laughed in my ear. I beamed at her in response. Ron walked over to me and nodded awkwardly.

"Sorry for sacrificing you like that," Ron said awkwardly.

"Ah, it's OK, I did it willingly," I smiled. Fred and George walked up to me and took the toilet seat from my hands.

"Glad to see you're up and about, Maggie," Fred beamed.

"Let me just… Here we go," George was laughing as he put the toilet seat around my neck like a necklace. I looked down at it and rolled my eyes in amusement.

"How'd you get this past Madam Pomfrey?" I chortled, "And, may I ask, did you _clean_ this before you gave it to me?"

"Oh, we snuck it in when she wasn't looking – portrait of Barney the Ill, next to her office, direct link from the library. We're surprised she didn't notice it, but we did conceal it rather well," Fred explained.

"And don't worry, we gave it a very thorough clean for you," George laughed.

"Honestly, I don't know _what_ to do with this thing, but it feels like a crime to throw it in the bin," I rolled my eyes. Hermione had her arms folded across her chest but she was laughing too. Ron had disappeared, going off to talk to Seamus in the distance.

I looked over Hermione's shoulder to see Neville walking up to us shyly. I felt my cheeks flush bright red.

"Erm… Sorry, about that, Neville," I finally said as he came to stand by Hermione, "We needed to, er, get you out of the way and it was the first thing that came to my head, I'm sorry…"

"It's alright," Neville was also blushing furiously, "Friends again?"

"Friends," I replied, relieved, and we shook hands at a respectable distance from each other. Hermione was smiling a little. Fred and George bowed to me and walked off to go talk to Lee as I ran off with Hermione to discuss what had happened when I passed out.

Harry had managed to checkmate the king. Ron doubled back across the board and ran to the Owlery, and managed to run into Professor Dumbledore on the way. After the chessboard there had been a troll that had been knocked out exactly like the one from Halloween. And after that there was a room with quite a few potions all lined up, and a fire blocking both the entrance and the exit – Hermione had solved a logic puzzle and Harry went forward, her doubling back to go help bring me to the Hospital Wing and running into Ron, who assisted with the task as Dumbledore went ahead.

"After that we won't know until Harry comes to; Dumbledore won't say anything to us yet," Hermione finished calmly.

"Right," I paused.

"However, I don't think it was Snape after the Stone," Hermione whispered under her breath.

"Why'd you change your mind?" I asked in amazement.

"Because he's still been at the teacher's table for meals and Professor Quirrell's gone missing," Hermione replied.

"I KNEW it!" I shouted. Everyone around us looked in shock and I lowered my voice and explained about how I saw Quirrell also performing some sort of spell at the Quidditch game, and how I'd been having tea with Snape since the beginning of the year.

"But you can't let on you know," I finished, "Because Snape swore me to secrecy about it, since he was doing it for my mum."

"Why didn't you _say_ anything?" Hermione gasped.

"Because you two would never have believed me, I had no evidence," I laughed.

Of course, enough people had overheard our talk that the story spread around the school like wildfire, and Dumbledore finally explained what had happened in the chambers.

When Harry woke up, he told the rest of his harrowing tale from his side, and in much more detail than Dumbledore had – how he faced Quirrell, how the Mirror of Erised held the stone and he could only get it by not actually intending to use it; how the back of Quirrell's head was Lord Voldemort and that's why he always wore a turban, and how Quirrell had crumpled underneath his touch.

"And then, Dumbledore told me something else," Harry continued as I sat on the edge of his bed, listening intently.

"He said my mum… she died to save me, when she didn't have to die. Voldemort wasn't planning on killing my mother. And because she sacrificed herself for me, Voldemort's killing curse rebounded and hit him," Harry paused, "And now I have her protection with me, forever – it runs in my veins, it's on my skin. Something that… pure, Dumbledore says… couldn't come into contact with Voldemort, with Quirrell, and not burn him. So he died," Harry finished in a whisper.

"Wow," I whispered.

"Also, Professor Dumbledore was the one who sent my Invisibility Cloak… Also, Professor Snape hates me because he hated my father, evidently, but my father saved Snape's life and for that Snape has been trying to protect me all year," Harry finished. He was amused that I wasn't really surprised about that.

"What about the Stone?" I finally asked, eating one of his chocolate frogs.

"Well, it's going to be destroyed, and the Flamels are going to die," Harry paused, "They apparently aren't scared by it at all."

"I suppose we'll need to live six hundred years ourselves to really understand," I laughed. Harry nodded with a smile.

The Great Hall was decked out in green and silver for the end-of-year feast. The last Quidditch match had been lost due to Harry's absence and everything was settled. It was sad, but I didn't really see how it could have been helped after the blunders of the year. Harry was let out of the Hospital Wing for the occasion, and Hermione and I greeted him with bear hugs almost immediately as we sat together at the table.

Dumbledore stood up then, a large smile on his face as he did so.

"Another year, gone!" he began cheerfully, "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were… you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts… Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: in fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."

The Slytherin table burst into cheers and Draco Malfoy was banging his goblet on the table. I turned to Fred and George and we all faked vomiting together merrily.

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," Dumbledore continued above the roar, "However, recent events must be taken into account."

I was very pleased to see the smile wiped off of Draco Malfoy's face.

"Ahem, I have a few last-minute points to dish out… Let me see, yes… First. To Mr. Ronald Weasley…"

Ron nearby went as red as a tomato.

"For the best played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house thirty points."

The Gryffindors all burst into cheers and Fred and George high-fived Ron merrily.

"Second, to Miss Hermione Granger, for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house thirty points," Dumbledore continued.

We burst into cheers again, me screaming out, "RESIDENT GENIUS, RIGHT OVER HERE FOLKS!" Hermione had buried her face in her arms and I had a funny feeling she had burst into tears.

"Third, to Miss Maggie Johnson, for bravely sacrificing herself for her friends and family, I award Gryffindor house forty points," Dumbledore went on.

The roar was deafening – we were a hundred points up. Fred and George immediately walked over to me and lifted me onto their shoulders, standing up, and I couldn't stop laughing.

"A Noble Sacrifice!" both cheered, and I was laughing hysterically.

"Fourth, to Mr. Harry Potter," Dumbledore called over the din. Everyone went silent, though Fred and George refused to let me down from their shoulders and I felt like I was sticking out like a sore thumb.

"For pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points," Dumbledore stated.

Everyone started screaming at the top of their lungs. I jumped down from Fred and George's shoulders and pulled Harry up and onto them, jumping up and down like a maniac. We now had exactly the same number of points as Slytherin, and the pandemonium was mental.

Dumbledore raised his hand and Fred and George stopped spinning Harry around.

"There are all kinds of courage," Dumbledore was beaming, "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

A bomb must have gone off in the Great Hall with the cheering that erupted. I ran over to Neville and threw my arms around him in a hug. He looked like someone had slapped him with the shock evident on his face. Hermione also threw her arms around him and Harry, when he managed to come down, joined in the ever-growing group hug for Neville.

"Which means," Dumbledore called out, trying to talk over all the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs celebrating, "We need a little change of decoration!"

He clapped his hands and all the banners changed to red and gold, all the snakes to lions. Snape was shaking McGonagall's hand with a forced smile. I smirked at him and he merely shook his head with an eye roll. As I had found out that afternoon, he had discovered I had never believed him to be working with Voldemort, and for that he had said, "You're more your mother's daughter than I had given you credit for," and given me a plate of much more well-cooked biscuits. Though I knew he would always hate Harry, I was glad I could provide a barrier for that unfortunate rivalry.

Exam results came out the next day, much to everyone's surprise. Hermione got top marks in everything except two subjects, and had the highest marks of the grade. Harry had done surprisingly well. Hermione hadn't come out on top in Herbology, where Neville had beaten her, and had actually tied for second place with me. As for me, I managed to do well in almost everything – managing to pass both History of Magic and Charms, my worst subjects; doing as well as Harry in the other subjects, tying with Hermione in Herbology, and _beating_ Hermione for first place in Transfiguration. Unfortunately, Goyle had passed everything too, as did Crabbe. But I think we had enough victories in that week for a lifetime.

END OF BOOK ONE

AN: Alright, _so_ many things to say here:

1. I read the first book back in 1998 when it came out in the US. I was six and in Kindergarten. The first movie came out in 2001, quite a few years afterwards - and quite a few books afterwards too, I might add. As such, despite the movies, which I did deeply enjoy, most of my perceptions of the main characters stay the same while I read the books and write about them. Except for a few things: One, Neville _is_ Matt Lewis, and has been since the first movie came out (so it's not really due to ML's transformation over time.) Two, I had set voices in my head for essentially every character before the movies came out, and this included Snape.

Since 2001, Snape has been and always will be, Alan Rickman. It's a problem. So as I was writing this chapter I heard the voices of the characters as I have since I was six... except for Snape, whose voice was Alan Rickman's. And I felt I needed to share this with you all.

2. When Neville confronts the four of them in the Common Room, as I was reading and writing I noticed that JKR's description of him turning around in his Arm Chair was very... Godfather like. And now I can't get the image out of my head of Neville turning around slowly, dressed very fancily, stroking Trevor and talking to the four of them in a Chicago-Italian accent. It's a real problem. But a very funny one.

3. Maggie's kiss to Neville was a burst of inspiration that I couldn't let go of. Are they going to get together anytime soon? ... No. I side fully with JKR on the idea that all of them - and I mean _all_ of them - need to go through a botched relationship before they end up with the person they stick with for the rest of their lives. So, like JKR, everyone - Harry, Hermione, Maggie, Neville, (Ron and Luna too) will have short, failed relationships so they experience something else and learn what they want from a romance before they end up with their eventual mate. Maggie was purely trying to distract Neville and it worked quite nicely.

4. Even though Ron comes with them on their adventure through the Trapdoor, he doesn't become a permanent member of their little group. It's still the Trio of Harry, Maggie and Hermione. I just couldn't get around the fact that Ron needed to play the Chess game. Does he have a presence in the rest of the books? Of course. He has to. But he's not a member of the trio (IE he doesn't make it a quartet) and that's very important to understand.

5. SHOUT OUT TIME! Thanks to moorejr for following this story. Also, thanks to Anonymous Reviewer, TA-twinArmageddons, and DreamCatcher1991 for reviewing, and Viola Potterhead Girl for her review-PM. I really like that you guys are keeping up with this! It warms the cockles of my heart, truly. I hope you can forgive me for my hiatus over my vacation whilst I go off to a water park and do aquatic activities of joy. It is actually Wednesday evening right now and I've started Book Two, but whether or not I'll be able to post it is another question... that has now been answered (still Wednesday) and I'll definitely be able to update at least once.

Please review again, guys! I really enjoy getting them and every time I check my email for a new one I burst into smiles. Also, I love it when they really talk about what happened in the chapter, both compliments _and_ criticism, so I know how to improve.

I am fully aware that my probable lack of updating over the weekend means a dry spell of reviews, which makes me sad.

Please review! I look forward to them the most whenever I update.


	10. Ch 9: Summer 1992, The Nest

Chapter Nine: Summer 1992, The Nest

I woke up one morning, feeling extraordinarily uncomfortable in the summer heat, to Darwin tapping on the window. I had a lofted bed next to the window on the second floor, and as such Darwin was literally perched next to my face.

I sighed and reached to open the window, allowing the owl to hop onto my chest. I grunted with shock and took the letter from the owl's leg.

"Honestly, Darwin, I'm not your perch," I muttered as I opened up the letter. It was another one from Hermione, and this time she had asked me why Harry hadn't responded to any of her letters.

I frowned at this. He hadn't been _getting_ any letters from her, and he was rather saddened by this and thought that she was mad at him for something.

"Oi! Harry!" I shouted. He stirred in his own lofted bed across the room and sat up groggily, taking his glasses and putting them on from the top of the tall wardrobe that stood against the headboard of his loft.

"What could you _possibly_ have to wake me up for, Maggie?" Harry grumbled irritably.

"Hermione said she's been writing to you," I frowned, holding up the letter. Harry's eyes widened in surprise.

"You're joshing me," Harry remarked, climbing down from his bed and walking over to mine.

"Nope," I popped the p, "She says she's confused as to why you haven't been writing to her," I handed the letter down to Harry. He examined it and frowned, giving the letter back to me.

"Do you suppose Neville and Ron have been sending me letters too, and I just haven't been getting them?" Harry asked with a frown.

"Maybe," I sighed, "Neville didn't say anything about it in his last letter, nor did Fred and George. To be fair, though, I really think only Hermione would definitely be writing to the both of us."

"That's true," Harry paused before calling, "Aunt Melinda?"

My mum immediately appeared at the base of the steps, still really on the first floor, looking up at us.

"What is it, Harry?" she asked, frowning.

"Do letters ever get lost? You know, owl post," Harry asked as I climbed down from the loft.

"Not usually, no; Owls are pretty reliable Harry," Mum responded, "Why?"

"Well, I haven't gotten any letters from my friends back at school, but Maggie's been getting loads; and I mean I automatically assumed they were mad at me for something but then Hermione said in her letter to Maggie that she didn't understand why I wasn't responding to her letters and now I'm confused," Harry explained.

"That's peculiar," Mum frowned, "Let me ask about it at work, alright?"

Harry and I both nodded and she went back downstairs. I looked over to the third loft on the other wall, and saw Elena had woken up and probably gone downstairs.

"What do you want to do today, Harry?" I finally asked, folding up the letter and putting it back on my loft, "I'm up for an adventure if you are."

"Why not, we haven't been to the forest in ages," Harry smiled and nodded. We both got dressed and ran outside.

It was amazing how much we had begun to change, both during Hogwarts and afterwards. We had both grown a little taller, still basically staying the same height. Harry's voice kept squeaking at random moments that sent me into fits of giggles that he would punch me in the arm for. I had begun growing breasts, much to my dismay, and I continuously tried covering them up with overlarge sweatshirts. I had never been girly and this reminder of my femininity was _not_ welcome. Harry, who might have missed lots of things with lots of people, never missed anything with me and couldn't stop laughing every time I wore a too-big t-shirt.

"I'll get back at you for this," I commented as a similar situation happened while I dressed today, "Mark my words, Harry Potter."

"Right, because I have an equally big problem with puberty as you do," Harry stuck out his tongue.

Outside, the forest was monstrous as always. I immediately went over to my favorite tree and climbed up to the tallest branch, Harry following behind me.

"Do you really think there are dragons in our forest, Harry?" I asked calmly, as I stared out over the tops of the trees pensively.

"Maggie, if there are, we're not looking for them," Harry replied with a grunt, "I know Hebridean Blacks can be found around this area, but please, don't go looking."

"I know, I know," I sighed, "Sorry."

We watched over the forest in silence, clouds rolling closer to us that meant rain was coming, as always in Britain.

"Do you remember this time last year? How we didn't even know about any of it?" Harry murmured.

"Deep man," I teased, "But yeah. And now you've faced Lord Voldemort in the flesh… Well, the borrowed flesh I suppose."

"After that, this year should be rather peaceful, d'you reckon?" Harry chortled.

"I dunno man," I shook my head, "I'm going to be hanging out with Fred and George the entire year, not just the end of it. And I have this funny feeling there will always be a mystery to solve at Hogwarts."

"Fair enough," Harry plucked a leaf off of the tree, "I don't think you'll need to be kissing anyone to distract them, though."

"My _God_, would you let that drop?" I laughed.

"Nah," Harry beamed. I rolled my eyes and flicked a twig at him.

"Do you want to go exploring on the floor, now? I mean, we've been up here long enough for you to have your fill of the sky," Harry asked. I sighed and responded, "I suppose."

As we climbed down from the giant tree, Harry continued, "I mean, I don't understand why you hate brooms… they bring you up to the sky same as climbing a tree."

"It's really not the same," I responded, "I mean, brooms are so… so _artificial_."

"You should just live in the woods," Harry laughed, "And I mean really live in the woods, not in a house. I think you'd be comfortable sleeping on a tree branch."

"Unfortunately I find it hard to argue with you," I shook my head as we reached the ground and began exploring through the woods.

"Now, remember, off that way," I pointed to the left through a bunch of thick undergrowth, "Is the wolf pack. We remember what happened last time, and I don't feel like going through that again."

"I fought 'em off, though," Harry responded proudly. I rolled my eyes.

"By, in the immortal words of Professor McGonagall, sheer dumb luck," I paused, "And remember over there," I went even farther left, at a right angle to where we were standing, "Is the giant cave of no return where we got lost."

"Yeah, eventually we found our way out," Harry frowned, "But no, we should _not_ go that way again."

"Let's just go straight," I suggested as we started walking, "We never actually go straight from this angle."

"No, I don't think we have; we like the waterfall to the right too much," Harry agreed, "Let's be off."

We walked for a long time, laughing and exploring the deep woods, making sure to dig up the forest floor as we went so we could find our way back. We eventually started playing our old childhood games again – tag, forest monster, hide and seek. However, since going to Hogwarts and learning about the evil in the world, I couldn't help but feel like we were preparing for a more deadly version of these games.

"Maggie," Harry panted, following me as I ran off to a small meadow in the middle of the woods, "Where _are_ we going, now?"

"Dunno," I paused, "You're still it, you realize."

"Course I do," Harry shook his head in amazement, "We've been running for miles, I reckon."

"This forest is huge!" I spread out my arms and twirled around in a circle, "I love it!"

Harry laughed in response as I collapsed into the middle of the field, rolling around in the herbs and flowers.

"You're completely mad, you know," Harry chuckled as he sat next to me.

"You've known me for almost your whole life," I replied cheerfully, "Surely you're aware of this by now?"

"Course, I just figure the more I remind you of it the better chance we have of curing your insanity," Harry teased. I punched him in the arm and sat up from the grass.

"I can't wait to go back to Hogwarts," I commented lightly, "I mean, it's nice to be home and not have to worry about schoolwork, but I want to be at that big castle with all our friends, learning new things and solving mysteries! This is getting monotonous."

"I know," Harry agreed, "We should make up a song."

"A song? Oh no," I groaned, "When Harry makes up a song everyone should run for cover."

Harry rolled his eyes and stood up, taking a dramatic stance, "How should it start? How should it start?"

"I don't know, Harry, you _know_ I'm not musically inclined," I rolled my eyes.

"Neither am I. Let's see… I gotta get back to Hogwarts," he began singing, rather badly. I groaned and covered my eyes, falling back into the grass.

"I gotta get back to school," Harry continued, dancing around.

"Oh, for the love of everything holy, please stop before you hurt yourself," I begged, still lying down.

"I gotta get back to Hogwarts," Harry continued singing as if I had said nothing.

"Alright, keep making a fool of yourself, see if I care," I shook my head.

"Where everyone thinks I'm cool," Harry beamed, dancing around me, purposefully taunting me. I decided to sit there in silence and not encourage his behavior.

"Back to witches and wizards, and magical beasts," Harry continued, laughing.

"To goblins and ghosts and to magical feasts," I muttered. Harry laughed and pulled me to my feet, spinning me around now that I had contributed lyrics to his silly song.

"It's all that I love and it's all that I need!" Harry shouted jovially.

"At Hogwarts, Hogwarts," I rolled my eyes, and Harry laughed even more at my reluctant response.

"See? We could make a musical!" Harry declared dramatically.

"Oh lord, please don't," I shook my head before lying back down in the grass. I suddenly heard a mad hissing in my ear and I jumped up with a shriek. Down where my head had been was a very large snake, it's tongue flicking in and out of its mouth.

"Geez," I sighed, "Let's go, Harry."

He suddenly began hissing at the snake, something he always did to those creatures. It was always nerve wracking to hear him talk to a snake. We had never told my parents about it, or Elena, or anyone at all that we had met in the past year. I couldn't do it and we decided it was best to not worry anyone else about Harry's strange ability.

"Harry, we can go, just let the snake be," I begged when he finished hissing. But the snake slowly sunk away back into the woods away from us.

"Sorry," Harry was flushed with embarrassment, "It's like I can't help it."

I nodded, "I'm sorry I freaked out, it just always scares me when you do that."

"And I know that," Harry squeezed his eyes tightly shut, "Which is why we haven't told anyone about it, really."

I looked at where the snake had gone and grabbed onto Harry's wrist, forcing him to walk away with me back to the house.

A few weeks later, the mystery of Harry's letters still had yet to be solved. Neither of us had any idea why he wasn't receiving any, since now Fred and George indicated that Ron had been writing, and even Neville said he sent a letter to him, and Hagrid had sent plenty indeed. Mum hadn't found anything out from the Ministry, who were as clueless as we were.

She came home one evening looking rather upset. Elena was reading a book in the corner of the house, purposefully ignoring me and Harry, which she had done often since we came home. Harry and I had originally tried to rectify this, but after a month we gave up, realizing nothing we said to her was any sort of use.

"Argh!" Mum shouted, walking into the kitchen and promptly beginning to slam a pot onto the stove and heated it with her wand as though the stove had committed a great crime against her.

"What's wrong, mum?" I asked carefully, walking over a respectful distance from her.

"Melinda?" my dad furthered, walking up to mum and rubbing her shoulders, "What's wrong, dear?"

Mum shook her head and Harry looked at me in confusion. I returned the look and frowned over at my parents.

"It's the Ministry," she finally sighed, "Can't bloody change their ways for anyone or anything. They're more stubborn than a pack of centaurs about the bloody planets."

Harry let out a small chuckle that I glared at him for. He promptly shut up and we continued to stare at the pair in worry. Elena even came out of her corner and stood by us.

"What did they do now, sweetheart?" my dad soothed calmly.

"I can't get promoted," Mum sobbed, "There's no way I'll ever get picked. There are too many laws, too many policies of the Ministry, and too many damn _precedents_ that mean I will always get passed over for someone else. If was working for your government, Nathaniel, I'd be one of the leaders in foreign relations, if not the head of the international agency. But I'm still a second level diplomat at this bloody Ministry!"

"I know, it's just plain wrong," Nathaniel agreed, "They set so much store by what doesn't matter at all!"

"What are you talking about, Mum?" I asked softly.

"Why don't you get promoted, Aunt Melinda?" Harry furthered.

Mum sighed, looking over at Dad, who shook his head in sadness.

"In our world," Mum began, "You know that there are wizards and witches with all sorts of parents – both a wizard father and a witch mother, like all three of you; someone who has a muggle for one parent; and someone who has two muggles for parents, like me, like your own mum Harry."

We all nodded, fully aware.

"There's a certain amount of… prejudice… against people whose parents are muggle-born in our world," Mum continued, "Lots of people think we are… second rate witches and wizards. And this prejudice is so entrenched that at the Ministry, there is a lot of precedent to hire pure-blood and half-blood witches and wizards over muggle-born ones; as well as some policies and even some laws that make it hard for muggle-borns to be hired and promoted. So I've been stuck at the same level in my position for almost six years now because I am muggle-born, and they will always hire even an extraordinarily less qualified pure-blood over me."

"That's horrible!" Harry gasped.

"Completely unfair!" I agreed in anger, "Can I go down there? I'll punch some people for you. Or I'll unleash Fred and George on a pranking spree and…"

"It's not going to undo millennia of hatred, honey, but I appreciate the gesture," Mum smiled weakly.

"Why wouldn't it be the same in America?" Elena asked thoughtfully.

"Because, back when muggles were colonizing America, most of the witches and wizards who came with them were muggle-borns, to escape the prejudice. So few pure bloods came over, in fact, that almost none of the old prejudice exists over there," my dad explained, "Do we have prejudices of our own? Of course, and a lot of them are just as horrible. But your mother would not suffer there as she does here."

"So why haven't we moved?" Elena asked.

"Because Dumbledore asked us not to, with Harry and all," Mum sighed.

Harry looked over at me and I shrugged in equal confusion.

"Now, can you kids go and play or read or something? I'm going to try and cook some dinner," Mum dismissed. I walked with Harry back up to the room to discuss what we had just learned, and Elena returned to her corner to read.

When we walked upstairs, however, we were greeted with nothing more out of place than a house-elf. I looked at him in shock but Harry was even more surprised, not having encountered a creature of its kind before.

"You're a house-elf," I commented lightly. The creature nodded vigorously.

"Well, erm… why are you in our room?" I continued in confusion.

"To see Harry Potter, Miss!" the elf explained.

"And why is it you want to see me?" Harry frowned, looking at me as if I were playing some sort of elaborate prank. I shook my head, raising my eyebrows in equal confusion.

"So long Dobby has wanted to meet you, sir… Such an honor it is…" the elf, presumably named Dobby, began.

"Th-Thanks?" Harry responded, moving forward to sit in one of our chairs, "Who exactly are you?"

"Dobby, sir. Just Dobby. Dobby the house-elf," Dobby repeated.

"What exactly is a house-elf?" Harry looked from me to Dobby for an explanation.

"They serve wizarding families, and there are about a hundred that do all the cooking and cleaning at Hogwarts, which is why I know about them," I explained.

"Fred and George?" Harry asked simply, like he always did when I alluded to something I had learned under their tutelage. I nodded and he accepted this answer, as he always did.

"Is there any particular reason you're here? Not that I'm not pleased to meet you," Harry said to Dobby, turning to face him in the chair. I pulled up a bean bag chair and sat next to Harry.

"Oh, yes, sir," Dobby nodded, his large ears flapping wildly, "Dobby has come to tell you, sir… it is _difficult_, sir… dobby wonders where to begin…"

"Why don't you sit down," Harry gestured to the chair across from him.

Dobby burst into very loud tears in that instance, sobbing, "_S-sit down! Never… never ever…"_

Harry looked horrified and I checked the stairs to make sure no one was coming up as he replied, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything…"

"Offend Dobby!" the elf replied, "Dobby has _never_ been asked to sit down by a wizard… like an _equal_!"

Harry helped him sit in the other desk chair as Dobby sighed, waiting patiently for his cries to slow down.

"You haven't met a lot of decent wizards, then," I commented offhandedly.

Dobby shook his head in agreement. Then, he leapt up quite randomly and started banging his head against the large window, shouting, "Bad Dobby! _Bad Dobby!_"

"Dobby, what _are_ you doing?" I hissed, running forward along with Harry and pulling him back to the chair. Still, no one came upstairs. I suppose by this point they were used to us shouting and playing games extremely loudly up here, and thought nothing much of it.

"Dobby had to punish himself, sir and miss," the elf explained, "Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir… the wizard family Dobby serves, sir…"

"Do they know you're here?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh no, sir, no… Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you, sir. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this. If they ever knew, sir…"

"Kind of sticks out, though, if you shut your ears in an oven," I shook my head, moderately disgusted, even more so than I had been down in the kitchens with Fred and George.

"Dobby doubts they'll notice, miss. Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, miss. They lets Dobby get on with it, miss. Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments…"

"Why don't you leave?" Harry demanded.

"A house-elf must be set free, sir. And the family will never set Dobby free… dobby will serve the family until he dies, sir…"

"Well," I turned to Harry, "That puts life into perspective."

"Just a little bit," Harry nodded.

"Can't anyone help you? Can't I?" Harry asked softly. Dobby suddenly began wailing again, once again with gratitude.

"Harry Potter asks if he can help Dobby! Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew…"

"Whatever you've heard of my greatness is a load of rubbish. I'm not even top of my year at Hogwarts, that's Hermione, she… is brilliant," Harry began rambling, clearly embarrassed, his cheeks flushed bright red.

"Harry Potter is humble and modest. Harry Potter speaks not of his triumph over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named…" Dobby squeaked.

"Voldemort?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dobby squeaked in terror and put his hands over his ears, "Ah, speak not the name, miss! Speak not the name!"

"Sorry," I muttered.

"Dobby heard tell," Dobby continued, "That Harry Potter met the Dark Lord for a second time, just weeks ago… that Harry Potter escaped _yet again_."

Harry nodded.

"Ah, sir," Dobby gasped in amazement, "Harry Potter is valiant and bold! He has braved so many dangers already! But Dobby has come to protect Harry Potter, to warn him, even if he _does_ have to shut his ears in the oven door later… _Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts._"

We both looked at him in utter confusion.

"Harry musn't? And not I?" I looked at him, frowning, "Because get something straight, here, Dobby- my cousin and I are in this together, and if I'm going into a dangerous situation then he's following, and vice-versa."

"Then Miss Johnson must also stay here, where she is safe. Harry Potter is too great, too good, to lose. If Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts, he will be in mortal danger, and then so will you, Miss Johnson."

"Why?" Harry gasped in surprise.

"There is a plot, harry Potter. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year… Dobby has known it for months, sir. Harry Potter must not put himself in peril. He is too important, sir!" Dobby explained.

"What terrible things?" Harry frowned, "Who's plotting them?"

"And I thought we would have a year at Hogwarts without mysteries," I commented lightly.

Dobby began to make a choking noise and then started hitting his head again.

"All right!" Harry sighed, "You can't tell me, I get it. By why are you warning _me?_ Does this have to do with… with You-Know-Who, does it? You can shake or nod."

Dobby shook his head, "Not… Not _He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named_, sir…"

Harry looked confused, though Dobby was gesturing as though giving a big hint, "He hasn't got a brother, has he?"

Dobby shook his head.

"Well then, I can't think who else would have a chance of making horrible things happen at Hogwarts," Harry shook his head sadly, "I mean, there's Dumbledore, for one thing… you know who Dumbledore is, don't you?"

Dobby nodded, "Dumbledore is indeed a great wizard… but sir, there are powers Dumbledore doesn't… powers no decent wizard…" and suddenly he was beating himself with a lamp this time.

I ran forward and wrenched the lamp from the elf and glowered at him, "Would you _stop_ hurting yourself? And besides, Harry's not going to stay home. He has friends at Hogwarts, friends that he misses, and things to learn so he can defeat You-Know-Who again in the future… You want You-Know-Who gone completely, right, Dobby?"

"Indeed, yes, Miss," Dobby sighed, "But does Harry Potter have friends? Friends that don't even _write_?"

"They have been, the letters have just been… wait a second," Harry frowned, "How do _you_ know my friends haven't been writing to me?"

Dobby shuffled around guiltily, "Harry Potter musn't be angry with Dobby, Dobby did it for the best…"

"_Have you been stopping my letters?" _

"Dobby has them here, sir," the elf sighed, pulling out a thick wad of envelops from the inside of his pillowcase that he was wearing. Harry lunged forward but I was behind the elf as he stepped backwards, managing to grab it from his hands.

"Harry Potter mustn't be angry… Dobby hoped… if Harry Potter thought his friends had forgotten him… Harry Potter might not go back to school, sir…"

"You had no right to take his letters from him," I snapped angrily, handing the letters to Harry, "And besides, I was still getting my letters, so your plan was a little flawed. Our friends indicated to me that they didn't understand why Harry wasn't writing to them. Thus, you should have thought it through better."

"Harry Potter must say he's not going back to school!" Dobby begged.

"No, I have to go," Harry replied, "It's my… it's where my friends are, it's where I feel at home. I can't not go back."

Dobby looked at us sadly and at that moment Mum came upstairs. He turned, looked at my mother in shock, and vanished into thin air with a crack.

Mum looked at us in amazement as we relayed the entire story to her.

"To be honest, kids, house elves are usually only owned by very _privileged_, and old, wizarding families. And they can't usually do such a thing that is so outside of their orders… I wouldn't be surprised if this was a prank, by say, that Malfoy boy," Mum shook her head, "You have your letters now, Harry. Let's just forget about it."

And, for the most part, we did. We only discussed it when Hermione came to visit around Harry's birthday, and she agreed that it was very peculiar and suspicious and Malfoy, or someone of a similar background and persuasion, might have something to do with it.

That same day we all went out to Diagon Alley to purchase our things for the new term, which included a ginormous set of books written by a rather… douchebag-looking man, to be completely frank, named Gilderoy Lockhart. We ran into the Weasleys at the book shop, and I immediately ran off with Fred and George, leaving Harry and Hermione alone. We began discussing how best to prank the group of giggling witches surrounding Lockhart when a commotion broke out downstairs.

We saw Mr. Weasley, whom I had just met along with Mrs. Weasley, breaking out into a fight with a long-haired blonde man. I looked over at Fred and George and they shrugged in confusion, following me down the stairs to help break up the fight along with basically everyone in the shop _except_ for Lockhart, who was thrilled at it for some stupid reason. The man, who I found out later was Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, gave back some textbooks to Ginny Weasley, the youngest of the clan, and left in a huff.

I turned to Harry and Hermione in shock and they both shrugged wordlessly as we left the shop.

And thus the rest of the summer was fairly quiet, with us writing our mates regularly but no more letters being withheld and no more scuffles breaking out in the middle of shops. And on September first we eagerly went to King's Cross station with our parents, running slightly late as we got onto the space between platforms nine and ten.

"Alright, you two go first just in case we don't have time to catch up," Mum ordered, "Go at a bit of a run, as always, and…"

"We know, mum," I sighed, "We'd be _fine_ if Elena hadn't…"

Elena glowered at me and I chose to drop the subject, heading towards the barrier with Harry. However, once we finally reached it – _CRASH! –_ we were knocked back from it as though it were the wall it was supposed to be.

Mum and Dad rushed forward, though Elena hung back. They helped the two of us up and dusted us off.

"What was that?" Mum frowned, patting her hand on the wall and continuing to frown as it remained solid.

"Someone must have closed the barrier," Dad sighed, "Look."

The clock chimed eleven and the train had left without us.

"We're going to have to bring you to Hogwarts ourselves," Mum groaned, "I'll have to tell Albus about this."

The lizard that also went by this name was hissing at us loudly in irritation, causing the stares of many a muggle passer-by.

Mum rushed us away from the platform and back out onto the street. We continued on, going towards Diagon Alley, to the Leaky Cauldron where we used Floo Powder to get here in the first place. Mum managed to get the fire to connect with Hogwarts after a lot of yelling into it with just her head, and we finally reached the castle, the first ones there.

Mum went upstairs to talk to Professor Dumbledore about the entire proceedings as I turned to face Harry, bringing our trunks and other things up to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"I wonder what all that was about?" I asked him in confusion. He simply shook his head sadly.

"I wish we were on the train, it's much more fun there," Harry sighed.

"I know," I agreed as we reached the portrait, before realizing we had no idea what the password was. The Fat Lady stared at us expectantly.

"Well crap," I sighed.

"I would say I am astonished at your language, Miss Johnson, but unfortunately nothing much that you do surprises me anymore," I heard a familiar voice call out behind us. We whirled around to see Professor McGonagall walk up to us.

"Welcome back, you two… we still have most of the day before the feast," she paused, "I hope you're ready to continue your remarkable studies in Transfiguration, Miss Johnson?"

"Oh yes, Professor," I nodded eagerly.

"And I trust that you are ready to give your studies your best effort as well, Mr. Potter?" she continued.

"Definitely," Harry agreed cheerfully.

"Good, good. I hope you won't be snooping around as much as last year, but I feel like hoping for that is like hoping for the Chudley Cannons to win the league," Professor McGonagall paused, "The password is wattlebird, since I know you're waiting for me to tell you this."

The portrait door opened and we both beamed at our professor, who simply shook her head and left back down the stairs. The Common Room was strange so empty – there was no one around and the fires hadn't been lit yet. We both ran up are respective stairs, finding that my dormitory had had its sign replaced from FIRST YEARS to SECOND YEARS, and pushed the door open to drop off my stuff on my bed.

_Well, _I thought in amazement, _This year has started out quite interestingly indeed._

___  
_AN: Well I am at the great Midwestern waterpark of little cell phone access, but I am doing my best with the doc I uploaded on Thursday. I am also on my iPhone so I am liable to have autocorrect mistakes aplenty. So I shall keep this short.

THANK YOU SO MUCH! The response for the last chapter was absolutely overwhelming. I give Internet cookies and kitchy water park souveneirs to you all! Seriously I almost cried :D I am glad that more and more people are recognising this. Time to shout out! Thank you to Edmond O'Donald for favouring, following and adding this story to his C2. Thanks to rangerohero, Viola Potterhead Girl, two Anonymous Reviewers, Edmond O'Donald, TA-twinArmageddons, and DreamCatcher1991 for reviewing! I Cannot thank you all enough, the response was fanfreakingtastic. I hope you'll all grace me with such an overwhelming response again!

Please Review!


	11. Ch 10: September 1– October 31, 1992

Chapter Ten: September 1– October 31, 1992, Hogwarts

I still to this day consider it a matter of skill that Harry and I managed to get into the Great Hall by blending in with the crowd of incoming students in the Entrance Hall. The two of us walked casually alongside some third year Hufflepuffs who didn't even notice us as we came up to the Gryffindor table and sat down.

"Harry! Maggie!" I heard a very familiar voice call out as a giant head of bushy brown hair came to sit down across from us. She literally ran, and the excitement she exuded as she sat there was palpable.

"Hey Hermione," Harry and I both laughed in unison.

"Where _were_ you guys? Neville and I looked all over for you. Fred and George even came by to ask for you, Maggie," Hermione continued breathlessly.

"That's a funny story…" I began just as Neville sat down next to Hermione and beamed at us all.

"Where were you two? We looked all over for you on the train and…" Neville began just as the entire Weasley clan came up behind him.

"Harry, I wanted to catch you on the train but I couldn't seem to find you…" Ron interjected.

"Maggie! We have some prank ideas we wanted you to help us with on the train, but we couldn't find you. It was sad. Lee doesn't have the same mind as you," Fred leapt down to sit next to Hermione, across from me.

"And I wanted to talk to you about what we were going to do this weekend for our official opening of the year prank, I was thinking…" George interrupted, sitting next to me and looking down at me eagerly.

"Guys! I can't breathe!" I laughed.

"Seriously," Harry shook his head, "Just give us a moment here.

"So where _were_ you?" Hermione asked again, looking disgruntled at all the interruptions.

"Well, we got to the platform rather late," Harry began, "Because Elena was whining about not wanting to come. And we were all ready to go through the barrier, but for some reason it had closed."

"We really have no idea why. So our parents made a lot of urgent Floo calls and my mum sent some sort of silvery thing that looked like an orca, actually, telling it to say we were stranded," I frowned.

"Eventually the floo network opened so we could get to school through it from the Leaky Cauldron, and Aunt Melinda went to go talk to Professor Dumbledore while we got ready and brought our stuff up to the Dormitories," Harry continued.

"And then we spent the rest of the day just exploring the castle," I finished.

"Well, you must be hungry then," Ron commented.

"Starving," I laughed.

We all shuffled as we watched the first years walk in, looking terrified. Ron leaned over to talk to Harry, whispering (though we could all hear him,) "Ginny's there, let's hope for Gryffindor."

"Just a warning, Harry," Fred continued.

"It's a bit embarrassing, really," George nodded.

"She barely talked to you in Diagon Alley so you didn't notice," Ron whispered, catching on.

"But she sort of hero-worships you," Fred rolled his eyes.

"She's basically in love with you, mate. Sorry about that," George sighed.

Harry's cheeks flushed and he shrugged, "It's OK, she's just a kid."

"You're barely older than her," Fred chuckled, "But alright."

The Sorting Hat sang at the top of his lungs about the different house qualities. I was instantly bored, and spent most of the song playing thumb wars under the table with George. The list of students was long and boring, too, and I simply twirled my fork on the plate lazily after having lost to George three times.

Eventually we got to Weasley, Ginevra. The girl was very tiny, with long firey red hair. She looked nervous as she sat down on the stool and the hat went all the way over her head. It didn't take very long, however, for it to shout "GRYFFINDOR!" Much shorter than me, even.

The girl ran down and sat on the opposite side of Harry, next to Ron, pretty far away from my cousin actually. She was flushed bright red and stared down at her plate as her brothers all pat her on the back.

Dumbledore soon declared the feast to begin and I piled immense amounts of food on my plate, joyous to be feeding myself at last as Harry did a similar thing.

"Thanks for writing this summer, you two," Hermione began as we were eating, "Even you, Harry."

I laughed loudly, "Once his letters weren't being held by a crackpot elf."

"I can't believe that these elves are basically slaves, though," Hermione frowned, "It's horrible."

"Hermione," Fred shook his head, "They're _happy_ about it."

Hermione glared at him and turned back to Harry. Her eyebrows raised up into her bushy hairline, "Harry, why on Earth are you blushing?"

"Nothing," Harry shook his head and looked down at his plate, shoveling some food in his mouth to excuse him from answering further. I looked at him with my eyebrows raised as he chewed, swallowed, and drank some pumpkin juice. When he finally looked up and at me, he shook his head. He was now properly pale again.

"How long have you been looking at me like that?" he laughed.

"Since you ignored Hermione and started trying to choke yourself," I held my gaze still as I said this. Harry glared back at me for a while, trying to intimidate me into looking away, but I wouldn't bow. He finally groaned and looked away in defeat, eating some more food. When he looked up I was still looking at him like that.

"Would you just _stop?"_ he shouted in annoyance. Fred and George started sniggering and I smirked a little. Hermione just shook her head in silent amusement.

"No," I answered simply. Harry raised his arms above his head and turned back to his food. Eventually I got bored and turned back to chat with George next to me.

"So, we're going into the forest soon?" I asked cheerfully. He nodded eagerly, "You'll love it. And I swear I saw a Hebridean Black in there the other day."

"Honestly, you know just what to say," I shook my head, "Of course I'm in."

"Georgie, you've got to stop drawing her into things with dragons. It's practically unfair, the hold you have over her," Fred laughed. George stuck out his tongue at him.

"Are you sure you'll be safe?" Neville asked timidly. I beamed at him.

"Of course we won't be, but that's half the fun!" I insisted. Neville rolled his eyes in amusement.

Dumbledore came up then to announce the end of the feast and, as always, the school rules. George, Fred and I mouthed at each other the words of the rules in as mocking a way as we could manage. Hermione just shook her head again and Fred elbowed her in the side cheerfully. We all finally started making our way to the Common Room, excited for the beginning of the new term.

The next day, my thirteenth birthday, I cheerfully skipped down for breakfast, eager for the morning post. Darwin came down with a parcel, as expected, and Harry came over cheerfully handing me another one.

"Aww, thanks Harry, you didn't have to get me anything," I laughed.

"With the money my parents left me? I should have gotten you something last year," Harry shook his head, "Just open it."

My parents had sent me a pair of Omnioculars, similar to binoculars except they allowed me to rewatch, pause, and slow down the things I see. Though they were usually used in Quidditch matches, I fully planned to use them on my forest adventures instead. Harry had given me a book on all the different types of British dragons, both alive and extinct, which made me beam at him.

Neville and Hermione walked down then and smiled at us.

"Here, Happy Birthday Maggie," Hermione smiled, handing me another present. I laughed and hugged her as I opened it, finding inside another book on transfiguration.

"I have something for you too, Maggie," Neville interjected softly. I beamed at him, responding, "You didn't have to," jovially.

"Well I did," Neville smiled and reached into his robes just as Fred and George came running up behind me.

"Hello Maggie!" Fred declared cheerfully.

"Happiest of birthdays to you!" George continued.

"Though you may have to start your teenage years with dull classes and endless syllabi, we hope to make your day more awesome to make up for it," Fred finished.

"It shall be the day of endless pranking, endless adventures, and to top it off, our maiden voyage to the great Forbidden Forest," George explained.

"To begin with, here are our gifts to you – they may be small, but we shall make up for it with the rest of the day's awesomeness," Fred handed two small parcels to me that I opened immediately, rolling my eyes in amusement. One was a kit to help me dye my enemy's hair the worst possible color for them without their notice, and another was a box of miniature lifelike dragons that I could sic on anyone I chose.

"Thanks you guys," I laughed, "You didn't have to do this."

"Well, the dragons didn't cost any money to be honest," Fred shrugged, "Charlie got them for us, and the training them to sic an enemy bit we worked on ourselves."

"The kit wasn't that bad either. We couldn't afford the version that dyed the hair permanently… this stuff wears off in about a month," George sighed.

"It's OK," I laughed, "It'll be hilarious for a month, then."

George beamed in response, "Picture Malfoy with pink hair."

"He's got too pink of a skin tone, though," I commented thoughtfully, "It'll probably turn puke green."

"Even more excellent!" Fred and George said in unison.

"Well, we have to go prepare the first of the day's festivities," Fred explained as he and George got up from the table.

"Ta!" George waved and they walked out of the Great Hall. I simply rolled my eyes and turned back to Neville.

"Sorry about them," I laughed, "Really."

"It's OK," he replied softly, "Here, for you."

I took the small present from his hands and opened it to reveal a small box of puffapod seeds, which were exceedingly expensive.

"Wow Neville," I gasped, "Thank you so much! I can't wait to grow them. I love watching the pods drop and become flowers."

"I know you do," Neville smiled a little, "I'm glad you like them."

"The moment I get home I'll grow them, seriously," I laughed, "I want these outside the Nest."

Neville nodded with an even wider smile and turned to his breakfast toast. As Harry and I got up to start walking to class, Harry looked fairly thoughtful.

"Neville has a terrible memory. How'd he remember you liked puffapods the best out of everything last year?" Harry asked curiously.

"Dunno, he and I have always been Herbology partners, I expect he remembered from that," I responded.

We headed off to the greenhouses, where we were greeted outside with a giant overgrown wall of ivy blocking them off from the rest of the school. The flowers of the ivy plant twisted into the words _HAPPY BIRTHDAY!_ I turned to Harry and shook my head with laughter. Professor Sprout on the other side was fighting to break through the ivy to allow the growing crowd of students through. Neville looked at the wall of ivy while shaking his head, and Hermione simply covered her face with her hands.

Suddenly, the obnoxiously attractive teacher, Professor Lockhart, came over.

"No need to fear, Professor Sprout!" he shouted, "I can help you with that. It's a simple little spell…"

"There's nothing to help with except hand me a larger knife, Professor Lockhart, go back to your classes," Professor Sprout grunted as she hacked away with a knife.

"Nonsense!" Lockhart beamed, pulling out his wand and waving it, shouting, "_Valenius Ivironicus!_"

If anything, the ivy grew thicker. Hermione frowned, Harry raised his eyebrows, Neville shuffled his feet and I hid my laughter behind my hand.

"Just go," Professor Sprout ordered. Professor Lockhart waved cheerfully and walked away from the Greenhouses. I turned to the ivy wall and pulled out my wand, muttering, "Incendio!" (The only charm I was any decent at.)

The fire burned away most of the ivy and Professor Sprout managed to clear up the flames once it had done its job. She nodded at me and turned to the class, "Greenhouse three today, chaps!"

Greenhouse three was known for housing much more dangerous plants than any of us had worked with before. Harry and I looked at each other eagerly and followed quickly, me standing next to Neville and with Harry on the other side, Hermione next to him.

Professor Sprout took to the head of the class and began, "We'll be repotting Mandrakes toady. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?"

Hermione's hand shot straight into the air, though Neville and I had both followed slowly after her. Harry just shook his head in amusement as Sprout called on Hermione.

"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative. It is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state," Hermione stated.

"Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor," Professor Sprout responded, "The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?'

All three of us raised our hands again. Professor Sprout looked at us, and decided to let someone other than Hermione respond.

"The Mandrake's scream is fatal if you hear it," I answered calmly.

"Good, ten more points to Gryffindor," Professor Sprout smiled, "Now, the Mandrakes we have here are still very young."

She pointed to the rows of trays in front of us, where the purple mandrakes were growing in the dirt.

"Everyone take a pair of earmuffs," Professor Sprout ordered. We all reached around to grab ones that weren't of a pink and fluffy nature. I managed to grab a dark blue pair, and Harry a bright red one. Neville put his unfortunately pink and fluffy ones on, though I could see the left one was loose.

"Neville, here," I sighed, reaching over to his head and fixing the left one on better, "It was loose."

"Oh," Neville flushed, "Thanks."

"No problems," I laughed.

Professor Sprout began demonstrating by pulling out a mandrake baby and repotting it. Harry looked completely shocked and I sniggered at him, though no one heard the laugh. We all then removed our earmuffs so she could continue to explain.

"As our Mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won't kill yet. However, they _will_ knock you out for several hours, and as I'm sure none of you want to miss your first day back, make sure your earmuffs are securely in place while you work. I will attract your attention when it is time to pack up. Four to a tray – there is a large supply of pots here – compost in the sacks over there – and be careful of the Venemous Tentacula, it's teething," she explained.

Neville, Harry, Hermione and I automatically teamed up and began to repot endless amounts of mandrakes. It wasn't easy, as the little devils kept squirming around and flailing, and by the end of the class I was exhausted.

Transfiguration was, of course, fantastic, though Harry and Neville seemed to have lost their hard-earned progress over the summer. My beetle turned into a nice, blue button (I got extra marks for it being a different color than the original beetle, and Hermione got the same score for having a little swirly pattern on the button's surface.) Neville accidentally smashed his beetle and Harry kept trying to catch it before it ran off the desk.

That afternoon we had Defense Against the Dark Arts, which I was not really looking forward to, once again. Lockhart was quickly looking like a complete joke, though Hermione seemed rather enamored with him, as I could see from her excitement for his lesson.

As we sat at the lunch table, a very tiny mousy-haired boy came running up to us. He was holding a camera and blushing furiously as Harry looked up at him.

"All right, Harry? I'm… I'm Colin Creevey," he whispered breathlessly, "I'm in Gryffindor, too. D'you think… would it be all right if… can I have a picture?" he raised the camera.

"A… picture?" Harry frowned.

"So I can prove I've met you. I know all about you! Everyone's told me, about how you survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you and how he disappeared and how…" Collin began rambling.

"Um, yeah, he knows," I interjected calmly.

"Well, could you take a picture of us? I know about you, too, how you're Harry's cousin and you grew up together and…" Collin rambled again and I knew I had to stop him once more.

"Um, yeah, I'll do it," I frowned, "Get ready, Harry."

Harry grimaced at me but stood with Collin calmly, smiling in the picture as I handed the camera back to the boy.

"Alright, now we're going to go to class, alright?" I asked the kid calmly. He nodded and scampered off as we walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

Inside the classroom, there were quite a few fireworks zooming around the room, many of them spelling the words _Happy Birthday!_ Harry turned to me again in amusement and I just shook my head. They were very distracting as I put my set of Lockhart books out on my desk, popping and zapping around. But the Professor didn't seem to want to do anything about them. To be honest, I didn't think he could.

"Me," Professor Lockhart began, "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of _Witch Weekly's_ Most-Charming-Smile Award – but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by _smiling_ at her!"

I raised my eyebrows and looked at Harry, who just shook his head in equal amusement.

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books – well done. I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about – just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in…" he handed out test papers to everyone and continued, "You have thirty minutes – start – _now!_"

I looked down at the test paper and saw that the first three questions were Lockhart's favorite color, secret ambition, and his greatest achievement. I looked up with narrowed eyes and raised my arm into the air.

"Erm, yes, ah…" Professor Lockhart looked at me.

"Johnson," I responded calmly.

"Yes, Miss Johnson," Professor Lockhart beamed.

"This exam is complete bullshit," I stated in a very even voice. The entire class looked up at me in shock, Hermione started shaking her head like a mad woman and Harry's eyes widened.

"Well, I _am_ aware I didn't ask you about my house in Hogwarts and what my secret is behind the evenness off my teeth, however…" Professor Lockhart was frowning.

"No, that would have made it worse," I responded, "This is _Defense Against the Dark Arts_ class. If you're going to give us a pop quiz on the books that we didn't have to read before coming, by the way, you should be asking us about things pertinent to the class. You know, like how to defeat that banshee or the werewolf or anything else, not about your _birthday_."

Professor Lockhart's eyebrows went up and he opened his mouth to respond before I cut him off.

"And to be completely frank with you, are you sure you can even teach this class? Let's pretend your books don't exist and no one knows that you defeated all those dark creatures. These fireworks have been zooming around in here since the moment we entered and you haven't done a damn thing to get rid of them," I pointed above my head, "Nor did you know how to get rid of the ivy outside of the greenhouses."

"Charms are not part of my subject matter…"

"You know what I think? I think you are a remarkably self-centered man who wouldn't know what end of the wand to _point_ at a ghoul," I scowled, "Harry's more famous than you and more adept at defensive magic and he's a _second year_."

Professor Lockhart was actually starting to look mad now.

"I mean, everyone in the world knows Harry's name, and what he's famous for is actually verifiable fact. Did anyone _actually see_ you get rid of those vampires? Everyone _knows_ Harry got rid of Voldemort. And Harry's not wandering around the castle like he owns the place or demanding everyone treat him like the best thing since sliced bread, or that they know all the little unimportant things about him," I pointed at him, "He is famous _and_ pretty damn humble, which you don't seem to truly understand."

"Listen here, Miss Johnson…" Professor Lockhart was fuming a little now.

"He agrees with me, too," I snapped, sitting back down, "Go on, Harry."

Harry looked at me furiously before responding cautiously, "Well, these questions don't really seem to have to deal with Defense…"

"That's enough," Lockhart snapped, "I will conduct my class in the manner in which I decide. Twenty points from Gryffindor, Miss Johnson, and detentions for both you and Mr. Potter. Now, get back to your quiz."

Harry glared at me in fury as I shrugged and wrote down snarky answers to each and every question on the test. And then, when we finally got to the actual lesson, Lockhart did nothing to help put the pixies back in their cages – it was all me, Harry and Hermione.

As we left the classroom Hermione and Harry both turned to me in anger.

"You talked back to a teacher! You blatantly called him out in class and…" Hermione fumed.

"He's a complete blowhard!" I shouted in response, "He hasn't really done anything! I don't believe a _word_ of what's in his books."

"I can't believe you got me into trouble," Harry was shaking his head, "Why'd you have to drag me into that?"

"He wasn't mad enough yet," I stated simply. Harry threw his arms into the air and walked ahead of me at a quicker pace. Hermione followed behind him hurriedly and I walked along alone until Fred and George showed up once again.

"Hello Maggie! Brilliant show, with Lockhart and all," Fred cheered.

"We've heard about it, it's all over the school," George beamed.

"We had him this morning and we both really wanted to say similar things, of course," Fred paused.

"But we're glad we didn't, because your story is much more spectacular," George laughed.

"Now, it's time for the forest. We'll go get some dinner sustenance from the kitchens and make our way down there," Fred explained.

"I was thinking we'd make a picnic of it," George suggested, "I know this one relatively danger-free spot and…"

"Righteo, George!" Fred exclaimed, "What do you reckon, Maggie?'

"I'm a fan," I laughed. We all headed down to the kitchens and out to the Forbidden Forest, which I had never even approached before. The trees were taller than any trees I had ever seen before, and everything was dark and foreboding. It was fantastic. We ate some dinner and began exploring around, getting deeper and deeper as more and more fantastic sounds and terrifying shadows entered our senses.

"We've never been this far in before," Fred murmured softly as we continued walking.

"We could be outside of the official grounds of Hogwarts at this point," George agreed.

There was a loud sound and the three of us spun on our heels. A giant shadow moved past us, though none of us could see what made it. I felt my eyes widen and I stepped back in shock as whatever it was kept moving right past us.

"What the hell was that?" I hissed, "It was as large as… as… as a three story building or something."

"It looked right huge, you're right," George agreed.

"Let's… start heading back," Fred decided and we began walking through the forest in the opposite direction as before. It was completely pitch black at this point, and we all raised our wands with _Lumos_ and tried to find our way through the brambles and trees.

Another shadow crossed our path and we stepped back in terror. A giant, man-sized spider came crawling out of the undergrowth, about half a mile away from us.

I let out a loud scream and fell back, tripping over a log. My leg bent out at an odd angle and I knew I broke or twisted something. The pain was horrifying.

"Shit!" Fred shouted, "We've got to _run_."

"She _can't_, look at her leg!" George responded. The spider was coming towards us and he instantly bent down and picked me up, to my complete shock.

"GO!" He roared at Fred as I braced myself, wrapping my arms around his neck. The two took off, George lagging slightly, as I started sending curses over his shoulder at the spider as it followed us. We continued on through the forest, bobbing and weaving through the trees as Fred helped George through obstacles, and after a while I finally felt we had lost the monstrous creature.

"Alright," Fred panted as we came to a stop, "We've got to find our way out of here."

"We keep going in this direction," George nodded, "Since we just kind of made a loop around the thing and still went back towards the castle."

"Alright, do you want me to carry her now?" Fred offered calmly.

"No, it's fine," George grunted.

"George, don't be a prat," I snapped.

"We'll waste time trying to switch and we need to get the hell out of here," he responded in equal anger. I sighed and nodded and we continued to walk through the forest, going at a slower pace until we finally managed to come out onto the grounds.

"Alright, let's get you to the Hospital Wing," George sighed. We went up to the castle and through the Entrance Hall, where we ran into Harry and Hermione.

"What happened?" Harry asked, his eyes wide.

"Something's broken or sprained or twisted, I don't even know," I sighed.

"How'd you manage that?" Hermione continued.

"Probably doing something stupid with Fred and George," Harry scowled. I looked at him in shock and I realized we were in a serious fight now.

I shook my head and George continued to carry me up to the Hospital Wing, not even pausing at the exchange. Fred looked moderately concerned but I closed my eyes sadly.

I had managed to break my leg, which Madam Pomfrey managed to heal up in no time; however I had also twisted my ankle, which had to heal on its own. So I spent the next few weeks on crutches wandering through the castle very slowly, and only talking to Fred, George and Neville, who wasn't mad at me like Hermione and Harry were, evidently. Once it finally healed up, I continued pranking with Fred and George, but none of us wanted to go back into the Forest again so soon.

The problem with being friends with only those three people was, of course, the fact that all Neville wanted to do was go to the greenhouses, and all Fred and George wanted to do was prank or play Quidditch. Hermione was the person I went to when I wanted to read, Harry when I wanted to solve mysteries or just goof around. And those two important activities were kind of boring alone, now.

The first Saturday of the term I spent with Neville out on the grounds, my crutches next to me as we played exploding snap in the grass. Fred and George were at Quidditch practice and I admit was nice to have my ankle rested up as I sat more still than I had all week.

It was getting close to lunch time as we sat out there, and I was thinking about how much I wanted a sandwich as Fred and George walked up to us, both still in their Quidditch uniforms and looking rightly pissed off.

"You won't _believe_ what just happened," Fred growled.

"What?" Neville and I asked in unison.

"Malfoy is the new Slytherin seeker, and the team came out to use the pitch when we were already _on_ it," George sighed.

"And had been since right fowl early in the morning, too," Fred snapped.

"And Hermione came down to see what was going on as we were all arguing out there," George continued.

"And Malfoy called her a _mudlbood!_ Can you bloody _believe_ it!" Fred roared. Neville gasped in horror and his fists clenched angrily.

"Um… what's a mudblood?" I asked, embarrassed.

"It's a horrific term for someone who has muggles for parents. It's supposed to mean she's got dirty blood," George scowled, "Like anyone has filthier blood than that Malfoy."

"I punched him, and kicked him in the nuts. How _dare_ he call her that! He's a horrible, right fowl git and I want to _kill_ him!" Fred roared.

"Madam Hooch had to give the both of them detention," George sighed, "For fighting. Though she took points away from Slytherin for his language, thank Merlin. Harry and Hermione went off to Hagrid's hut so she could calm down."

"I'll dye his hair this time tomorrow," I stated calmly.

"Good," Fred growled, "And he'll be getting worse from me, mark my words."

"Alright, Freddie, just calm down," George closed his eyes, "There's no use shouting about it now."

Fred sighed in response and nodded, "Let's go get some lunch. Neville, help me get Maggie off the ground."

I stuck my tongue out at him as we walked up to the castle.

My detention from Lockhart was luckily not _with_ Lockhart, and whoever had planned that was a genius (as I would have probably killed him before the end of the day). I was stuck polishing the trophies in the trophy room, without magic. There was one trophy that, every time I cleaned it, it somehow got dirty again- I would knock over something that contained a lot of dust on it, or I'd trip and knock it into cobwebs, or something equally clumsy in my crutches-needing state. It was to some bloke named Riddle for special services to the school fifty years ago, and I began to hate the man for making me clean up his bloody trophy a million times.

The next day, Harry had nightmare face in the morning, but since we weren't talking I didn't ask him about it. I knew he had had his detention too and I figured it had to do with that. I made him and Hermione happy, however, by dying Draco's hair and turning it Weasley Red, much to his horror. He didn't even realize it was me who had done it and Madam Pomfrey couldn't un-dye it (or perhaps, had heard what Malfoy had said and didn't _want _to un-dye it), so he spent the next month walking around with bright orange hair.

October was spent in a similar fashion to September, but at least I wasn't on crutches anymore. Everyone in the castle was sick and needed Pepperup potions, including poor George and Neville, whom I often had to bring blankets and hot chocolate to from the kitchens as they spent their days curled up by the Gryffindor fire. Ginny Weasley, whom I had limited contact with (instead of following Harry around like a puppy she would hide from him, clearly terrified to talk to him, and thus I barely saw her even though I wasn't talking to Harry either) also looked sick, and took some Pepperup potion with her older brother. She was a nice enough girl, but clearly shy around me too since I knew Harry so well.

Halloween finally came, and I spent the day pulling pranks with Fred and George, sending Jack-O-Lanterns flying through the hallways and chasing annoying Slytherins through them, sending all other house members into giggles. I had tea with Professor Snape in the afternoon. He had been more amiable to me than ever since I had told off Lockhart and entered my fight with Harry, clearly pleased I wasn't requesting for him to cut Harry some slack.

At the feast, there was no sign of Harry or Hermione anywhere. I sat with my three friends, eating merrily and laughing at the giant pumpkins and the live bats swooping above our heads. Neville was getting along very well with the Weasley twins thanks to me, a friendship I never really expected. The dancing skeletons in the hall were constantly wandering around, and (probably having heard of Malfoy's previous hair adventures,) turned Malfoy and many other Slytherin's hair red. Fred, George and I were joyous at this, simply because it meant we could call Malfoy as poor as a Weasley again.

We ate truckloads of candy, pie, and other desserts in happiness before all grouping up together and leaving the Great Hall. I felt full to bursting and the others clearly did the same, waddling up the stairs and laughing lazily.

We finally reached the second floor of the school and were greeted with a horrific sight. There were puddles of water all over the floor and writing on the wall in what looked horrifically like blood, saying _THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE_. And, hanging on the wall as stiff as a stone, was Mrs. Norris, Mr. Flich's cat.

Harry and Hermione were standing underneath the cat looking dumbstruck at the truckload of people who had walked up to it. Harry had nightmare face again and Hermione had a look that came close to it.

"Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!" I heard the loathsome voice of Draco Malfoy call out.

Filch came running up and started shouting in horror, "What's going on here? What's going on!" Before turning to the cat and looking horrified as he shouted, "My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?'

He turned to Harry and screamed, "_YOU! YOU! You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll –"_

"ARGUS!" I heard Professor Dumbledore shout over the din. He walked up to my two estranged friends and to the caretaker, very calm.

"Come with me, Argus," he ordered as he pulled Mrs. Norris from the wall, "You too, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger."

Lockhart stepped forward out of the crowd and offered his office as the group left calmly. I turned to Fred and George and Neville, who all looked at me in equal shock.

"I might be mad at him, but I know my brother. He wouldn't have done that," I stated calmly.

"We agree, Maggie," George nodded.

"Definitely, but then… well, then who did?" Neville whispered.

"Another mystery," Fred paused and looked at me, "I think you need to team up with your mystery solving team again."

"I agree," sighed, "The fight's gone on long enough."

I looked over at the bloody wall and felt a chill run through me, cold as ice. I knew nothing of what was going on, nor what exactly would come next.

AN: Well, I'm back from my vacation and at a computer again! Huzzah! Sorry it took me so long to post this today, when I got back last night I was just exhausted and I didn't write anything before I went to bed, so I had to write everything today. It was a very nice vacation but I am ready now to get back to writing this story. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it was sort of the great chapter of foreshadowing for me in multiple ways haha.

SHOUT OUT TIMEEEE! Thanks to Cooky Crumbla for favoriting/following me as an author, and thanks to Cooky Crumbla and Andrigno for favoriting/following this story - I'm glad you guys liked it enough so far to keep up with it! And then thank you to Edmond O'Donald, TA-twinArmageddons (and it didn't take you two days to read it, you reviewed the day I updated it? Haha) rangerhero, DreamCatcher1991, Cooky Crumbla, and Viola Potterhead Girl for reviewing. The response for the last chapter was enormous and made my day when I got back from the water park haha. Special thanks to Edmond O'Donald and rangerhero for pointing out things I missed in the story - I LOVE it when I get critiques as well as praise because I am fully aware I am not a perfect author, could never measure up to JKR and need the help! I hope I addressed your concerns in this chapter. Finally, thank you Viola Potterhead Girl for your review to Hand Magic - I am very pleased that you loved it so much, that story was my baby for YEARS (I began plotting it out when the seventh book came out) and it's always nice to see it get recognition.

I am very pleased that you guys all love this story, my new baby (as it were), and are enjoying it so far. I hope I can keep you guys on with me when I go back to school on August 19th - being a science major sucks up my time like a Dementor sucks up souls but I am going to do my best this year to update.

Also, if anyone is good with graphics, photoshop, or art in general and would like to make a cover for this story, I would REALLY appreciate it. I can only draw on paper and can't do anything on the computer with art, and I would love to have something other than a monitor lizard as the cover for this story. If you would like to send me a PM and we'll start discussions.

Please review again! I look forward to your response to this chapter!


	12. Ch 11: October 31st – Mid December, 1992

Chapter Eleven: October 31st – Mid December, 1992, Hogwarts

I sat in the Common Room, waiting for them to come back. Neville sat next to me in an arm chair, frowning in contemplation. Fred and George had gone off with Lee Jordan to discuss the events themselves.

They finally reentered the Common Room, and I gave them no choice but to talk to me when I walked up to them and stood in front of them hesitantly.

"I'm sorry I got you into trouble, Harry, and I'm sorry for being so disrespectful, Hermione," I stated calmly, "I want to be friends again."

Harry smiled a very weak smile, "Alright, alright, this has gone on long enough."

"He's right," Hermione smiled too, also weakly, "Do you want to hear what happened?"

"Of course!" I nodded eagerly and we went back to where Neville was still sitting, each of us taking one of the three remaining armchairs.

"Well, during my detention with Lockhart, back the first week of term, I heard these voices," Harry began, "Professor Lockhart, however, _couldn't_ hear them. They were talking about killing someone, so I got rather freaked out."

"Well, yeah," I frowned, looking at him apologetically.

"It didn't happen again, though, until tonight. We had gone to Nearly Headless Nick's 500th Deathday party, because I had promised him I would. He was feeling a little down for lots of reasons and he mentioned the party and I felt obligated to say I would go," Harry sighed.

"Which he instantly regretted but I made him go anyway," Hermione smiled teasingly. Harry shook his head in sadness.

"Anyway, it was a horrific party and so we started to leave. When we entered the corridors, though, I heard the voice again. So I followed it down to the second floor, and you obviously know what I saw," Harry frowned.

"It really wasn't us who'd done it, but we all went back to Lockhart's office. First off – and you'll be right pleased with this – Professor Snape snapped at Lockhart and basically implied he was a fraud. Hagrid thinks he's one, too," Hermione laughed.

"Most excellent," I rolled my eyes, "Anyone know why the idiot was hired?"

"Well, Hagrid says he's the only man who'd take the job – as in, everyone thinks its cursed," Harry sighed, "So I'm afraid we're stuck with him."

"Greeaaaaat," I over pronounced, "Continue with the story."

"Well, I found out the other day that Filch was taking these Kwikspell courses, because he's a Squib – the child of a witch and a wizard who can't do magic themselves, sort of a reverse muggle-born," Harry explained, "He was furious that I found out but Nick saved me by pretending to be Peeves. Anyway, so Filch immediately assumed it was me because his cat was petrified and he thought I would attack him for being a Squib."

"Petrified?" Neville asked.

"Mrs. Norris isn't dead," Hermione explained, "She's just been frozen, though no one has any idea why."

"So we have no idea who did this, but everyone in the school's going to be thinking it's me," Harry groaned, "But the teachers, except for Snape of course, think I'm innocent."

"Well there's that at least," I paused, "Anyone have any idea what to do next?"

"There was a lot of water on the floor, and there's a girl's bathroom nearby," Harry paused, "Hermione said something about…"

"Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom?" I looked at Hermione with raised eyebrows, "Must we deal with her?"

"I think we have to," Hermione sighed. I nodded mournfully.

Ron came over then and looked expectantly at us, so Harry repeated the story to him. He seemed just as clueless as the rest of us, though I noticed as Ginny walked by she looked even more sick and pale than she had before.

"I'm just confused about these voices," Harry sighed.

"It's not a good sign, even in the wizarding world," Ron interjected.

Over the next few days, the attack was all anyone ever talked about. I hadn't seen Hermione in a while and Harry explained that she was in the library almost constantly outside of class, which I wouldn't really consider unusual except our homework load was unusually light.

As we worked on some History of Magic essays, of which mine was not going very well at all, Hermione sat over next to us with a grunt and a sigh.

"All the copies of Hogwarts, A History have been taken out," Hermione groaned, "And there's a two-week waiting list. I _wish_ I hadn't left my copy at home, but I couldn't fit it in my trunk with all the Lockhart books."

"Why do you want it?" Harry asked curiously.

"The same reason everyone else wants it, to read up on the legend of the Chamber of Secrets," Hermione explained.

"What's that?" I asked, frowning.

"That's just it. I can't remember. And I can't find the story anywhere else…" Hermione sighed, looking over at our pathetic homework attempts.

"Do you two need help?" she finally sighed again to my fairly large puppy dog expression I was sending.

"Yes please," I begged, handing her my essay. Hermione helped me finish up the essay just before the class started, lecturing me on actually paying attention in that class the entire time. But Professor Binns was the most boring teacher of all time – _of all time_. And as I settled in that class I prepared myself for my usual nap.

But then Hermione raised her hand, causing all of us to look at her in complete shock. Professor Binns looked as shocked as any of us and didn't really seem to remember her name as he called on her, saying "Miss… er…?"

"Granger, Professor. I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets," Hermione responded clearly.

Dean Thomas looked up in shock, Siobhan jumped a little in her seat, Lavender awoke from her nap and Neville leaned forward eagerly. Professor Binns, however, looked rather disgruntled.

"My subject is History of Magic, Miss Granger. I deal with _facts_, not myths and legends," he cleared his throat to continue with the rest of the lesson when Hermione raised her hand again.

"Miss Grant?" he asked again.

"Please, sir, don't legends always have a basis in fact?"

Professor Binns looked absolutely shocked as he responded, "Well, yes, one could argue that, I suppose. However, the legend of which you speak is such a very _sensational_, even _ludicrous _tale…"

Everyone was looking at him eagerly, though, with more attention than I felt he had ever received in his class in his life. He looked around in amazement before sighing in defeat.

"Oh very well. Let me see, the Chamber of Secrets… You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago – the precise date is uncertain – by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school Houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution… For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more _selective_ about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school… Reliable historical sources tell us this much. But these honest facts have been obscured by the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing. Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."

You could have heard a pin drop in the room and Professor Binns looked completely annoyed.

"The whole thing is arrant nonsense, of course," Binns snapped, "Naturally, the school has been searched for evidence of such a chamber, many times, but the most learned witches and wizards. It does not exist. A tale told to frighten the gullible."

Hermione raised her hand again and continued, "Sir, what exactly do you mean by the 'horror within' the Chamber?"

"There is believed to be some sort of monster, which the Heir of Slytherin alone can control," Professor Binns explained.

Harry looked over at me in shock and I shook my head fearfully.

"I tell you, the thing does not exist. There is no Chamber and no monster," Binns snapped.

"But sir," Seamus interjected, "If the Chamber can only be opened by Slytherin's true heir, no one else _would_ be able to find it, would they?"

"Nonsense, O'Flaherty," Binns responded angrily, "If a long succession of Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses haven't found the thing –"

"But wouldn't you have to use really rare Dark magic to open it?" I asked in confusion.

"Just because a wizard _doesn't_ use Dark Magic doesn't mean he _can't_, Miss Jones," Binns snapped, "I repeat, if the likes of Dumbledore…"

"But maybe you've got to be related to Slytherin, so Dumbledore couldn't…" Dean Thomas suggested.

"That will do," Binns interrupted, "It is a myth! It does not exist! There is not a shred of evidence that Slytherin ever built so much as a secret broom cupboard! I regret telling you such a foolish story! We will return, if you please, to _history_, to slid, believable, verifiable _fact!_"

I turned back to my desk for more naptime.

As we left the classroom, Harry looked rather downtrodden. It wasn't nightmare face, but it was definitely close to it as we walked through the hallway.

"I never imagined it was Salazar Slytherin who started all this pure-blood stuff," I commented casually, "I wouldn't be in his house for all the money in the world. If the Sorting Hat had even tried to put me there I would have muted the damn thing and shouted out Gryffindor myself."

Hermione nodded next to me but Harry remained sullenly silent. I looked over at him curiously but he refused to meet my gaze.

As we continued to walk, many a person sort of skidded around Harry in fear – Siobhan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Michael Corner just from our year.

"Why are they all acting so weird?" Hermione asked in amazement as a first year looked up at Harry, squeaked and ran away.

"They think I'm Slytherin's heir, I expect," Harry responded, but he sounded rather defeatist.

"That's absolute nonsense," I rolled my eyes before turning to Hermione, "Do you really think there's a Chamber?"

"I don't know… Dumbledore couldn't cure Mrs. Norris, and that makes me think that whatever attacked her might not be… well… human," Hermione murmured in worry.

We suddenly appeared on the second floor and in front of the message. We looked around the area and silently agreed to scout for clues. Harry began crawling around on the floor and found scorch marks there, and Hermione called for us to come to where she was pointing up at the window pane. A trail of little spiders was walking up through the window.

I had a flashback to a large spider appearing out of nowhere in the forest and I let out a violent shiver.

"Have you ever seen spiders act like that?" Hermione asked in amazement.

"No, have you Maggie?" Harry asked me.

I shook my head, my lips pursed together in fear.

"What is it?" Harry asked, his voice turning to concern as he walked up to me and looked at me worriedly.

"I just… recently had an encounter with… an extraordinarily large spider in the woods," I swallowed thickly, "And I have managed to not think about that until now."

"Oh," Harry murmured, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, let's just… get out of here," I begged, stepping farther away from the window.

"Wasn't there water on the floor?" Hermione asked, looking around as we stepped away from the window together.

"It was level with the door," Harry agreed, pointing to the door to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Let's take a look, shall we?" I suggested, eagerly walking away from the spiders.

"But it's a girl's toilet," Harry protested. Hermione and I both gave him a look and he groaned, following us inside of the dingy, depressing bathroom.

Hermione walked over to the end of the row of stalls and called out, "Hello, Myrtle, how are you?"

Moaning Myrtle, looking depressed as always, floated up into the air and eyed Harry suspiciously.

"This is a girl's bathroom," Myrtle commented, "_He's_ not a girl."

"No," Hermione agreed, "I just wanted to show him how – er – nice it is in here."

"Ask her if she saw anything," Harry mouthed.

"What are you whispering?" Myrtle demanded, staring at him.

"Nothing… We wanted to ask…" Harry began.

"I wish people would stop talking behind my back! I _do_ have feelings, you know, even if I _am_ dead –" Myrtle shrieked.

"Myrtle, we're not talking about you behind your back, Harry only…" I sighed.

"No one's talking about me behind my back! That's a good one! My life was nothing but misery at this place and now people come along ruining my death!" Myrtle howled.

"We wanted to ask you if you've seen anything funny lately, because a cat was attacked right outside your front door on Halloween," Hermione interjected.

"Did you see anyone near here that night?" Harry insisted.

"I wasn't paying attention. Peeves upset me so much I came in here and tried to _kill_ myself. Then, of course, I remembered that I'm – that I'm –"

"Yeah," I muttered. Myrtle let out a sob and dove into a toilet, causing a frightful splash.

"Well that was almost cheerful," I sighed, "Let's get out of here."

We left the bathroom and managed to sneak away before Percy Weasley saw us, sneaking over to the Common Room to get started on our charms homework. I was banging my head repeatedly on the table as I tried to remember the correct theory as Hermione slammed her book shut.

"Who can it be, really?" she whispered, "Who would _want_ to frighten all the Squibs and Muggle-borns out of Hogwarts?"

"Pick a Slytherin, any Slytherin," I muttered.

"But it would have to be someone so completely bent on it that they'd do anything, someone who is so ruthless, so cold-hearted…" Hermione continued.

"Alright, who is the penultimate Slytherin? Someone so truly terrible they'd do this sort of thing?" I asked.

"What about Malfoy?" Harry suggested.

Hermione and I looked at him skeptically.

"Harry, mate, do you really think _Malfoy_ could be the heir? Really?" I sighed.

"But look at his family, the whole lot of them have been in Slytherin; he's always boasting about it. They could easily be Slytherin's descendants. His father's definitely evil enough," Harry insisted, "They could have been handing down the key for centuries."

"Well, I suppose it's possible…" Hermione responded.

"But how do we prove it?" Harry sighed.

"There might be a way," Hermione began, "But it would be difficult. And dangerous, very dangerous. We'd be breaking bout fifty school rules, I expect… What we'd need to do is get inside the Slytherin common room and ask Malfoy a few questions without him realizing it's us."

"Right, you get right on that," I rolled my eyes.

"All we'd need would be some Polyjuice Potion," Hermione explained.

"Isn't that the thing Snape mentioned a few weeks ago?" I asked.

"It transforms you into someone else," Hermione nodded, "Think about it! We could change into three of the Slytherins. No one would know it was us. Malfoy would probably tell us anything. He's probably boasting about it in the Slytherin common room right now, if only we could hear him."

"It sounds a bit dodgy, though," Harry paused, "What if we're Slytherins forever?"

"It wears off after a while," Hermione explained, "But getting hold of the recipe will be very difficult. Snape said it was in a book called _Moste Potente Potions_ and it's bound to be in the Restricted Section…"

"How could we convince a teacher we only wanted it to read up on theory or something and not actually trying to brew anything?" I rolled my eyes.

"A teacher would have to be really, _really_ thick to fall for it…" Harry sighed.

We all looked at each other as we came to the same conclusion at the same time.

"You'd better ask him, Hermione. You basically worship him," I sighed.

"I do _not_-"

"Just do it," Harry laughed, "Maggie certainly can't and I'd better not anyway."

"Fine," Hermione snapped, picking up her books in anger, "But I do _not_ worship him."

Harry and I looked at each other and continued to chuckle.

After our next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, Harry and I waited outside the door together for Hermione. Hermione came outside rolling her eyes.

"He didn't even look at the book we wanted," she sighed, "But I've got the permission form. Let's get to the library."

We reached the library and Madam Pince, after much questioning, retrieved the book for us. We scampered back to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and sat together inside, Harry looking supremely uncomfortable as we did so. Hermione had the book open and was thumbing though it anxiously.

"This is the most complicated potion I've ever seen," she murmured, "Lacewing flies, leeches, fluxed, and knotgrass… well, they're easy enough, they're in the student store-cupboard, we can help ourselves… Oooh, look, powdered horn of a bicorn – don't know where we're going to get that – shredded skin of a boomslang – that'll be tricky, too – and a bit of whomever we're changing into…"

"A bit? Of who we're changing into?" I looked at her in confusion.

"A hair will do," Hermione waved off my concern with her hand.

"D'you realize how much we're going to have to steal?" Harry asked in confusion, "We're going to have to break into Snape's private stores…"

Hermione closed the book sharply, "Well, if you want to chicken out, then fine. _I_ don't want to break the rules, but you know _I_ think threatening muggle-borns is far worse than brewing up a difficult potion. But if you don't want to find out if it's Malfoy, I'll go straight to Madam Pince now and hand the book back in…"

"All right, all right," I sighed, "How long's it going to take?"

"Since the fluxweed has got to be picked at the full moon and the lacewings have got to be stewed for twenty-one days… it'll be ready in about a month, if we can get the ingredients," Hermione explained with a defeated sigh.

"A month!" Harry and I shouted in shock. Hermione glared at us and we both sighed in defeat.

The next day was the first Quidditch match of the season. I climbed up into the stands, nestled in with a crowd of fellow second-years. It was nice to know that Malfoy wouldn't be bothering us in the stands, but at the same time I was terrified about what he would do to Harry in the air.

The players all rose into the air and Harry rose highest of all, trying to look around for the snitch. George flew by directly over the Gryffindor stands and swooped over my head, causing everyone around me to shriek and duck in terror.

"WEASLEY!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. He laughed and waved before heading back into the stadium.

"Honestly," I muttered. Hermione was laughing and Neville looked rather disgruntled.

I looked over and my eyes followed Harry as he flew around. He appeared to be trying to dodge something, and I saw that a bludger was following him quite persistently, something that really didn't happen much in the game. No matter what Fred and George did, the bludger kept coming back, and the rest of the players were rather undefended from the other bludger.

"Well, that's a problem," Hermione commented, looking terrified despite the lightness of her tone of voice.

The team called a time out and seemed to be discussing something rather angrily down on the field. Finally, they all went back up into the air, and neither Fred nor George was trying to protect Harry from the bludger. I felt myself grip the back of the seat in front of me as the ball kept coming back to attack Harry again and again, grimacing in terror.

Harry dove past Malfoy at one point, almost knocking him off his broom, clearly chasing after the snitch as that idiotic bludger followed closely on his tail. He was hit in the arm by the bludger and then he managed to, somehow, grab the glittering golden snitch before crashing into the ground.

I looked at Hermione and Neville and whispered, "Let's go." Ron followed us as we all ran out onto the field. Harry had fainted on the ground, but Lockhart was already there before we managed to get there.

"Not to worry, Harry," Lockhart reassured as he came to, "I'm about to fix your arm."

"_No!_" Harry shouted, "I'll keep it like this, thanks…"

Harry looked to be in terrible pain and we all murmured anxiously, Colin Creevey taking incessant photos in the background.

"Lie back, Harry," Lockhart insisted, "It's a simple charm I've used countless times…"

"Why can't I just go to the hospital wing?" Harry begged.

"He should really, Professor," I heard Oliver Wood insist, "Great capture, Harry, really spectacular, your best yet, I'd say…"

Fred and George were trying to wrestle the idiotic bludger into a box with extreme difficulty.

"Stand back," Lockhart insisted.

"No – don't –" Harry begged, but Lockhart had shouted an incantation and magic went to his arm. It suddenly became limp and jelly like, almost deflated as it lay limp at his side.

"Ah," Lockhart muttered as Colin clicked away, "Yes, well, that can sometimes happen. But the point is, the bones are no longer broken. That's the thing to bear in mind. So, Harry, just toddle up to the hospital wing – ah, Miss Granger, Miss Johnson, would you escort him? – and Madam Pomfrey will be able to – er – tidy you up a bit."

As I helped Harry up, I saw immediately what had happened. Lockhart had removed all the bones in his arm.

Madam Pomfrey was furious, giving him some Skele-Gro to force him to regrow the bones overnight. The potion was, apparently, disgusting as he coughed and spluttered trying to get it down.

"How can you still stick up for Lockhart anymore?" I demanded of Hermione as we stood around Harry's bed, me helping him get dressed (when you grow up with a person, you lose a whole heck of a lot of shame,) "Harry didn't need to lose his bones."

"Anyone can make a mistake," Hermione insisted, "And it doesn't hurt anymore, does it, Harry?"

"No," Harry paused, "But it doesn't do anything else, either."

"I want to know who fixed the Bludger," I sighed.

"Malfoy, I'm guessing," Hermione muttered darkly.

"We'll have to ask him when we take the Polyjuice Potion," Harry grunted, "I hope it tastes better than Skele-Gro…"

"Slytherin-a-la-mode? You've got to be joking," I shook my head.

The rest of the Gryffindor team then entered, showering Harry in cakes, snacks, and pumpkin juice and talking and laughing loudly. However, Madam Pomfrey kicked us out, and we all trudged up together to the Common Room, where Fred, George and I developed an elaborate scheme to prank Malfoy the next day.

When I woke up, Hermione was standing anxiously by my bed. It was a Sunday and I always spent Sundays sleeping in.

I rolled over and pulled the blankets over my head, "Hermione, go _away_, I need more sleep…"

"You really don't," she whispered, "Another person's been attacked."

I sat up wildly in bed, "Wait, wait – _who_?"

"Colin Creevey," she continued anxiously, "He's been petrified."

"You're _kidding_," I stood up and started getting dressed, "Does Harry know?"

"Well, since Colin is currently petrified in a bed not too far from him, I'd say so," Hermione shook her head sadly.

"You've seen Harry today?" I asked as we ran down the steps and out of the Common Room.

"Yes," Hermione paused, "And wait until you hear this…" She explained as we ran down to the Hospital Wing about Dobby,_ him _closing the barrier,_ his_ rogue bludger, and how the Chamber had been opened before.

"Well, bullocks," I groaned, "We have _got_ to talk to Malfoy, and _soon_."

We ran to the Hospital Wing, grabbed Harry after his final check-up, and headed out to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Maybe Lucius Malfoy opened the chamber when _he_ was at school, and now he's got Draco doing it again. But I did hope that Dobby would have told you what the monster in the chamber was while he was at it, because I can't for the life of me figure out how no one's spotted the thing," I sighed.

"Maybe the monster can make itself invisible, or disguise itself…" Hermione began describing all sorts of magical creatures as the potion brewed, Harry and I watching it contemplatively.

As December rolled around, however, we were faced with a grand problem. We still needed the bicorn horn and the boomslang skin, and the only way that could be retrieved was through Snape's private stores.

"What we need," Hermione began, "Is a diversion. Then one of us can sneak into Snape's office and take what we need during Potions."

"I think I should do the stealing," I paused, "Snape would make sure Harry was expelled and I know the layout of his office the best."

"That's true," Hermione sighed, "And you two _do_ get along better than him and any other student."

"Shush," I whispered, "If he founds out I've told anyone he'll _murder_ Harry."

"Me?" Harry looked at me in shock.

"It would be more satisfying than murdering me," I paused, "But yes, of course I'll do it."

So in potions class that week, we were working on our Swelling Solutions. I had taken a cauldron near the door, next to Hermione, who was trying to distract Snape from the fact that Harry on the opposite side of the classroom had a Filibuster firework.

Snape was facing away from both Harry and me and there wasn't going to be another time to do it. I nodded at him and he let the firework free, aiming it at Goyle's cauldron. It landed right on target and I managed to slip away, scampering up to Snape's office.

I looked around wildly as I heard the screams and chaos of the classroom. I finally pinpointed the jar of boomslang skin and took enough out, stuffing it into my robes. I then found the vial of bicorn horn and took enough of that into one of my own vials, placing it with the boomslang skin. I then peeped out of the office door and watched as Snape, facing away from it, had the students get into a line to mitigate the effects of the exploded potion.

I snuck back down and stuffed the ingredients into my bag, standing near Hermione quietly. Snape swept over to Goyle's cauldron and pulled the dead firework from it, the entire class falling deathly silent.

"If I ever find out who threw this," Snape murmured in a deathly quiet voice, "I shall make sure that person is expelled."

Harry was clearly trying to look innocent and the bell couldn't have come sooner. I gave the ingredients to Hermione and we ran to Myrtle's bathroom, her immediately stirring furiously.

"The potion will be done in two weeks," she declared proudly.

"Snape can't prove it was you," I reassured Harry.

"He'll still do something horrific to me," Harry groaned, sliding against the bathroom wall.

A week later, it was announced that a Dueling Club was being started for the students of the school. Having finished the book on Dueling Harry had gotten me for Christmas last year, I insisted upon going, and Hermione and Harry agreed that it would be better to attend the club than to not.

"I wonder who will be teaching us? I heard Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was young – maybe it'll be him," Hermione suggested eagerly as we all filed into the Great Hall, which had the tables gone and a large stage set up in front.

"As long as it's not…" Harry began, but groaned in horror as Lockhart came up onto the stage, wearing purple robes and accompanied by Snape.

"Great," I groaned with Harry, "I know more than this buffoon about dueling and I haven't even ever _done_ it."

"Gather round, gather round!" Lockhart called, "Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent! Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions – for full details, see my published works. Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," Lockhart gestured. I managed to meet Snape's gaze and I grimaced for him. His head gave an imperceptible nod of agreement as Lockhart continued, "He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry – you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"

I heard Ron mutter to Harry next to me, "Wouldn't it be good if they finished each other off?"

Lockhart and Snape turned to face each other, Snape wearing the face of pure loathing and hatred he usually reserved for Harry or Neville. Neville next to me look right afraid of it even though it wasn't being directed at him.

The two of them raised their wands like swords in front of them, the correct dueling position. However, Lockhart wasn't gripping his wand correctly at all- he was gripping it in a way that didn't allow any wrist movement at all. I wanted to call him out on it so much, but that was Hermione's job and not mine.

"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position. On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course," Lockhart explained.

"Um…" I laughed quietly and Harry grinned with me.

"One – Two – Three!"

Snape cried out _Expelliarmus!_ Which I knew to be the classic disarming spell. Lockhart didn't say anything of all and was blasted off his feet, his wand flying out of his hand and into Snape's.

The Slytherins burst into cheers and I, the lone Gryffindor to do so, began clapping. Even Harry looked moderately pleased. Hermione looked distressed but I pointedly ignored this.

"Well, there you have it!" Lockhart declared as he managed to get back to his feet, "That was a Disarming Charm – as you see, I've lost my wand – ah, thank you, Miss Brown – yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy – however, I felt it would be instructive to let them see…"

Snape looked more angry than I had ever seen before.

"Enough demonstrating!" Lockhart squeaked, "I'm going to come amongst you now and put you all into pairs. Professor Snape if you'd like to help me…"

Snape walked over to us and sneered down at Harry.

"Time to split up the friends, I believe," he snarled, "Johnson, you partner Miss Parkinson. Potter, you go with Mr. Malfoy. And you, Miss Granger, you can partner Miss Bulstrode."

I faced Pansy angrily, feeling like Snape knew I was the one to have stolen from his private stores. Pansy sneered at me with her pug face and I lifted my wand. No one but Harry really knew that I had read a whole book on the subject of dueling and practiced the spells in my room with him, however, play dueling your brother and dueling an evil little Slytherin were completely different things.

"Face your partners!" Lockhart called, "And bow!"

I bowed sarcastically, flaying my arms out and my sides and winking at her. Pansy sneered and barely lowered herself.

"Wands at the ready!" Lockhart shouted, "When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponents – only to disarm them 0 we don't want any accidents – one… two… three-"

I immediately stepped forward and shouted, "_Locomotor Mortis!_"

Pansy's legs locked together and she fell to the floor just as she shouted "_Locomotor Wibbly_!" I felt my legs turn to jelly as I also fell to the ground. I somehow managed to get to her, seeing my chance, and plucked one of her hairs from the back of her head.

"OW!" she shrieked, "What was _that_ for?"

"_Expelliarmus!_" I shouted instead, and her wand flew into my hand. I beamed cheekily at her as Lockhart shouted "STOP! STOP!"

"_Finite Incantatem!_" Snape shouted above the roar.

Everyone was in tatters around us. I managed to stand up and see that Millicent had Hermione in a headlock and Hermione was clearly in pain, with their wands on the floor. Harry leapt forward and helped pull Millicent off and I helped pull Hermione away, both of us grunting with the effort.

"I think I'd better teach you how to _block_ unfriendly spells," Lockhart declared, "Let's have a volunteer pair – Longbottom and Finch-Fletchley, how about you –"

"A bad idea, Professor Lockhart," Snape sneered, "Longbottom causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending what's left of Finch-Fletchley up to the hospital wing in a matchbox." Neville blushed horrifically and I reached over to give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze as Snape continued, "How about Malfoy and Potter?"

"Excellent idea!" Lockhart enthused, helping the two of them up onto the stage. He began muttering to Harry, wiggling his wand around in the air rather crazily before it dropped to the floor. Snape also whispered something to Malfoy. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and glared at the stage angrily.

I wanted to shout, _remember, Harry, PROTEGO!_ But I knew no one would appreciate that much.

"Three – Two – One- GO!" Lockhart shouted. Malfoy immediately raised his wand and shouted, "_Serpensortia!_" The end of his wand exploded and a long black snake fell out and onto the floor, causing the screams of many of the students.

_Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap…_ I thought anxiously.

"Don't move, Potter," Snape reassured lazily, "I'll get rid of it."

_Don't say anything, don't talk to the snake, don't say anything… _I begged internally. He didn't look at me, but I still shook my head madly at Harry as Hermione and Neville looked at me in confusion.

"Allow me!" Lockhart shouted. He brandished his wand and there was a loud bang, but the snake simply flew into the air and fell to the floor near Justin Finch-Fletchley.

_No, no, no, no_, I thought in a panic, raising my wand and ready to do anything to stop Harry from talking to the snake.

Harry stepped forward the snake, though, and I knew it was too late. He started hissing, and though I knew Harry would never do such a thing, it sounded like he was encouraging the snake. I buried my face in my hands and groaned as the entire hall looked at him in terror and anger. Justin himself demanded what Harry was playing at.

Everyone was silent and apprehensive as Snape vanished the snake. I managed to grab Harry and pull him out of the Great Hall, Hermione, Ron, and Neville following us close behind as we reached the Common Room.

"Harry, you _know_ you're not supposed to talk to snakes!" I shouted at him once we got inside, "We said that was the dumbest idea ever and –"

"You're a parselmouth? Harry, why haven't you told anyone?" Ron demanded angrily.

"I'm a _what_?" Harry asked in shock.

"You can talk to snakes," Hermione clarified.

"It's really, really rare," Neville mumbled.

"He's been able to his whole life," I clarified, looking at them in confusion, "I mean, we've known about it and we knew none of the rest of the people in our family could, so we just agreed to not mention it… it's saved our skins many times in the forest outside of our house…"

"This is really bad," Ron groaned.

"Why is it so horrible? If I hadn't told that snake not to attack Justin…"

"Harry, I told you, it never sounds like what you think it sounds," I insisted, "It sounded like you were egging the snake on."

"I don't know _how_ I speak it or even what it sounds like…" Harry groaned.

"But it's so bad, Harry," Hermione sighed.

"If I hadn't, Justin would be joining the Headless Hunt right now and…"

"Look, it's bad because being a parselmouth is what Salazar Slytherin is _famous for_. He could speak to snakes, too. And now everyone in the school is going to think you're his descendant," Hermione explained calmly, though her voice was still a little shaky.

"But… but I'm _not_," Harry insisted.

"He lived a thousand years ago," Hermione murmured, "For all we know, you could be."

AN: Sorry this took me so long... I was trying to update my writer profile last night and I accidentally clicked the backspace, lost everything, shouted a little and went to bed early. Also, I had a bit of writer's block. And then my mum gave me some chores. And I felt like I was copying a lot out of the book again, so next time I'm going to try and put in more original stuff again. But it's here! HUZZAH!

To answer one reviewer's question - Edmond O'Donald - the reason I didn't include Malfoy's reaction to having his hair dyed in the last chapter was mainly because I had a dentist appointment in ten minutes and I wanted to submit the chapter before I left. There is absolutely no other reason than that.

SO! SHOUT OUT TIME! Thank you to NiebieskiLis for favoriting me as an author, and thank you to NiebieskiLis, rb2312, i'm-a-Harry-Potter-rebel, gundam1, tinalr, and madmick74 for following/favoriting this story - I'm glad you all enjoy it enough to keep it up with it and I hope you'll drop me a review! Thus, thank you Edmond O'Donald, rangerhero, NiebieskiLis, DreamCatcher1991, TA-twinArmageddons, Cooky Crumbla, and Viola Potterhead Girl for reviewing! All your reviews are so lovely and they completely make my day. Starting this chapter I'm going to individually reply to them again like I used to because it really does mean so much to me that you all are reviewing.

I'll start working on the next chapter pretty soon, since I think my mum won't have me do any more... oh wait. She just talked to me for a half hour... oops. BLAME MY MOTHER FOR THE LACK OF UPDATE.

Please review!


	13. Ch 12:Christmas to February,1992 to 1993

Chapter Twelve: The Christmas Holidays – February, 1992 – 1993, Hogwarts

The last day of classes for the term, Herbology class was canceled. I spent the day in the Common Room, waving my wand above my head and making a little origami dragon fly around. Hermione was studying for some class and Neville was napping against the back of his chair. Harry had run off to go and confront Justin, to try and reassure him that he was telling the snake to leave Justin alone.

"Are you OK, Hermione?" I asked quietly once Harry had gone. She looked up in surprise at my question and responded, "Shouldn't we be more worried about Harry at this point?"

"Well, yeah, but he's not here," I responded delicately, "I mean, to find out your friend is a parsel-whatsit…"

"Parselmouth," Hermione corrected automatically, "And don't worry, Harry's a good person. The only reason parseltongue has such a stigma is because it's usually dark wizards who can do it. But I know Harry 'pretty damn well,' as _you_ would say," I laughed at this, "And he's not a bad person, no matter what sort of creature he can talk to."

I beamed at her and turned back to my work, before looking up again, "I wonder, what would make you change your tune about Harry? I mean, what would be the _last_ straw?"

Hermione frowned, contemplating her answer. "What about you?" she asked me in order to stall.

"He'd have to kill someone who didn't deserve it," I responded softly, "Hurt someone dreadfully who didn't deserve it."

"Why would they deserve it?" Hermione furthered.

"Because that person has already hurt someone else, dreadfully, or killed someone else. And I should clarify – he also has to get some sort of malicious pleasure out of it. If he's really sorry, then I'll forgive him," I smiled a little, "He's my best friend, he's my brother."

Hermione nodded and sat back, "Then that's my answer, too. He has to hurt someone horrifically, who doesn't really deserve it, and be happy about what he's done."

I looked up to see Fred and George approaching me and, glad to end this rather depressing conversation, jumped up eagerly. They smiled at me in response.

"How's it going, Maggie?" Fred asked, sitting down on the floor next to my chair. George followed suit and waved his wand so my origami dragon would come and land on top of his head.

"Alright," I sighed, "The whole mess with Harry and the snake is nerve-wracking."

"If anyone thinks Harry's the heir of Slytherin they're mental," George shook his head, "You have nothing to worry about."

"Then a good portion of the school is mental," I snapped, "I overheard some Hufflepuffs talking and…"

"The only people who think he's the heir are people who are in Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and a small scattering of very naïve Gryffindors. Most of the Gryffindors and all of the Slytherins would never believe him to be the heir, because the Gryfindors are in their right minds and the Slytherins wouldn't want Harry to be their heir anyway," Fred laughed.

"Fair enough," I sighed, "I assume there's a reason you two came over here?"

"Well, to be honest, we're here to ask a favor," George paused.

"You see, Ginny's still fairly under the weather," Fred continued.

"Acting strange, in the end, she barely talks and she usually won't shut up," George agreed.

"She's pale all the time and always rather jumpy," Fred shook his head in sadness.

"And, well, she won't talk to any of _us_, meaning me, or Fred, or Percy, or Ron," George explained.

"And we were thinking it might be a girl problem, so she wouldn't want to talk to _us_ about it," Fred sighed.

"So we were hoping you could do it," George paused, "If you don't mind."

"Why me?" I laughed a little, "I'm the least girly girl in the world."

"First off, that's an exaggeration," George grinned cheekily. I stuck my tongue out at him in annoyance.

"Second off, you two get along well," Fred continued with an eye roll.

"Third off, you're a good role model for her, we reckon," George nodded fervently.

"Fourth off, she's not exactly the model for weak, damsel in distress femininity either," Fred laughed.

"Fifth off, when you talked to her before in October you seemed to cheer her up a lot," George explained.

"Sixth off, you're Harry Potter's adopted sister, which might make her listen to you if only for the promise of an autograph," Fred chortled.

"Seventh off, you're our only female friend close to her in age – Alicia, Angelina and Katie are all significantly older than her enough to create an age gap," George finished.

I looked at the pair of them, shaking my head wordlessly before responding, "Alright, alright. I'll talk to you sister. Do you know where she is? I have some ideas of what to do."

"She's in her dormitory, which you can obviously get to. We, however, cannot," Fred rolled his eyes.

I nodded and walked up to my own dormitory first, grabbing my bow and arrow and pouring some food into Albus' cage. I then walked down to the first years' dorm and rapped on the wood with my knuckles.

"Hey, Ginny? You there? It's Maggie," I called.

The door opened a crack and I saw a young, freckled face peep out. She looked up at me and mumbled, "Yeah?"

"Want to come on an adventure? It'll be fun," I offered.

Ginny opened the door wider, revealing herself to be in her pajamas, "Why?"

"Because, you look under the weather and I wanted to cheer you up," I explained cheerfully.

Ginny managed a weak smile before responding, "I'm actually in the… erm… middle of something right now. Can we do it tomorrow?"

"Sure," I frowned, "What are you in the middle of?"

"I'm writing in my diary," Ginny blushed furiously, "And I'm feeling ill, so I was just going to take a nap when I was done."

"Oh, well, then that's fine. Tomorrow, be prepared for some archery adventures," I held up the bow and smiled at her, going back up to my dormitory to put away the bow and arrows. I then headed back down to the Common Room.

Fred and George looked annoyed that I had come back down without Ginny.

"She wanted to nap, so we're going to go shoot some targets tomorrow and talk about life. Happy?" I rolled my eyes and sat back next to Hermione.

"Fine, fine," Fred waved it off and I continued to study for a while with Hermione. At one point, Ginny came down from the dormitory and walked straight past us all, seemingly transfixed on something. Hermione and I exchanged glances and frowned at each other in confusion. Ginny, though always looking ill, never looked like she wasn't even focusing on her surroundings. But neither of us decided to get up and do anything as I read my book about British dragons and how the Hebridean Black would often pick territorial fights with large magical creatures in their native habitats of thick woods and coastal forests.

After a while, there could be a great commotion heard in the corridors. The Gryffindors all looked at each other and didn't seem to know what to make of the noise, but we all rushed out to the source of it together. Hermione and I came up upon the scene of Justin Finch-Fletchley, lying on the floor, looking shocked and his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. Next to him was Nearly Headless Nick, looking black and smoky, floating immobile and horizontal six inches off the floor. He looked just as shocked as Justin. Harry was pinned to the side of the wall and it seemed the entire student body was staringa t him accusingly. Peeves overhead was singing, "_Oh Potter, you rotter, oh what have you done. You're killing off students, you think it's good fun –" _

Professor McGonagall ordered the poltergeist to shut it and ordered all the students away. Hermione and I looked at Harry in deep concern as we were shepherded along, him meeting our gaze with terror in his eyes as we went up to the Common Room.

"Talk about the wrong place at the wrong time," I muttered under my breath as we reached the Common Room. I watched Ginny going up the stairs, looking even more sick than ever.

"It's completely horrible. Now _everyone_ is going to think it's him," Hermione groaned.

"There's no way to prove it isn't other than our word that he wouldn't do such a thing… and our word is going to matter less and less over time," I whispered as we sat near the fire, crowding together anxiously.

"Maybe I could find a way to get myself petrified? I mean, I _am_ a muggle-born, but I'm best friends with Harry, no one would believe that he attacked _me_…" Hermione suggested.

"Absolutely not," I responded firmly, "That's completely out of the question."

"Oh what, _you're_ allowed to sacrifice yourself on a chess board but when _I_ suggest it…" Hermione hissed.

"Hermione, there's a difference between that and this. I was sacrificing myself so we could stop Voldemort. You're just trying to protect Harry's reputation – it won't _actually_ solve anything and you could even be killed," I groaned. She glared for a moment but I could see in her eyes she knew I was right.

Harry returned to the Common Room, explaining how Dumbledore did not think it was him, causing the relief of both me and Hermione. In the wake of the attacks, most all the students rushed to leave the castle for the holidays, terrified of something that could hurt even a ghost.

The first day of the holidays, the day after the double attack, Ginny and I headed out to the grounds by Hagrid's house to shoot. I had become quite adept at it by this point and could now hit very slowly moving targets perfectly almost every time.

"Now, you've got to put your index finger and your middle finger like _so_," I instructed, helping Ginny notch the arrow properly and helping her aim it at the target.

"How far back should I draw it?" she asked, clearly concentrating on this hard. Too hard, it occurred to me; she must have been trying desperately to distract herself from something.

"The farther you go back, the longer the distance you'll shoot. Now, with this, it won't hurt to make the string nice and taught; unless you aim terribly, the arrow will hit the target before it goes too far," I explained.

Ginny nodded and pulled back the string as far as her tiny arms could muster before letting go. It flew up, up, into the air and hit the trunk of the tree high above the target.

"Well… at least you managed to hit something and I don't have to go on an exploration mission," I offered. Ginny rolled her eyes as I ran up to the tree, climbed up to the arrow and pulled it down. I walked back over to her and handed her the arrow, instructing her to try again.

"So why have you been so out of sorts, Ginny? Is first year really not treating you well?" I asked her calmly as she shot another arrow that actually hit the very outer edge of the target.

"I've just been… feeling funny. Not so much sick as… funny," Ginny offered, very reluctantly.

"Why? Do you have any idea?" I asked, showing her real concern in my facial expression.

"No, I'll just… I dunno… zone out for long periods of time. I will really not remember what I've been doing," Ginny looked rather defeated, "It's scaring me."

"Do you do anything before these zoning-out times? Like, is there a pattern as to the events that led up to it?" I offered, my concern growing exponentially.

"Well… there are a few things…" Ginny admitted, clearly not wanting to tell me them as she shot a few more arrows.

"Well then, cut down on those activities, or chuck them out completely," I ordered, "Everyone's worried about you. I was told a lot about you, you know, by the twins, and you aren't nearly as hyper and witty as they claimed."

Ginny laughed weakly, "I know, I know I've been acting really weird, I just… I need to get a hold back on my life."

"Well then, if there is _anything_ I can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask," I smiled warmly as she shot an arrow that got close to the bulls' eye.

"Thanks, Maggie," Ginny smiled a little. She continued to shoot arrows as I encouraged her warmly.

"So, you have a crush on my brother?" I asked cheerfully as I walked over to the target. When I turned to look at her she was completely flushed, and steam was practically coming out of her ears.

"I'll take that as a yes," I laughed cheekily and she stuck her tongue out at me.

"_There's_ the proper Weasley attitude!" I cheered as she rolled her eyes.

That very day I suggested to Hagrid that he get Ginny the same present he had gotten me the last year, and I was pleased to find out that Christmas day that he did in fact carve her a set of her very own arrows and a bow. The only people in the Gryffindor tower were me, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, and Neville. There weren't very many other people anywhere, and the only Slytherins remaining were Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

Christmas morning I awoke to Hermione pulling back the blinds on my four-poster, demanding that I get up and pouring presents on my bed. She was already fully dressed and fully awake.

"Hermione Granger, I hate you," I groaned, rolling over in my bed.

"Merry Christmas to you too," she rolled her eyes, "Open your presents, I've been up for nearly an hour, adding more lacewings to the potion. It's ready. We've got to go tell Harry and we can't do that until you've woken up."

I looked at her in amazement, sitting up in bed, "Really? It's done?"

"Yes," Hermione nodded, "If we're going to do it, I say it should be tonight."

"Alright," I sighed, "You'd better go get Harry up. I'll open my presents."

Hermione beamed and went out of the dormitory. From my parents I had received a book on Hebridean Blacks in the Scottish mainland and how to find them – something Harry would probably get mad at them for sending me. Harry himself had given me a make-your-own filibuster fireworks kit, something that Fred and George would definitely have appreciated. Hermione got me a transfiguration log, to track my progress in different complex transfigurations and in my experiments with the subject. Hagrid got me enough fudge for a lifetime. Fred and George themselves sent me another hair dye kit, which I looked forward to using, as well as a singing frog that would follow around my enemy singing some of the most annoying muggle songs ever imagined and wouldn't leave them alone until the charm wore off (usually in 2-3 months.) Elena sent me a small book on magical spiders, which I had a funny feeling was more a cruel prank in the wake of my spider attack (which I had told her about, of course) than anything else. Neville sent me a large and elaborate flowering plant, which would occasionally sprout fangs if provoked specifically by spiders larger than the size of a knut. Finally, Professor Snape sent me a box of Cauldron Cakes.

Once I had finished opening all my presents I rushed down to the Common Room to greet Harry, who confessed to loving the book I had gotten him on defensive magic.

We headed to the Great Hall, eating and drinking merrily amongst the frost-covered Christmas trees and the holly and mistletoe. Dumbledore lead us in carols, with the drunker teachers joining in at the top of their lungs.

As I piled more Christmas cookies joyfully onto my plate, Hermione leaned across to Harry.

"You still need a bit of the person you're changing into. It'll be best if you can get something of Crabbe or Goyle's. And we have to make sure both the real Crabbe and Goyle can't burst in on us while we're interrogating him," she explained. Harry looked at her incredulously as she continued.

"I've got it all worked out," she held out two chocolate caked, "I've filled these with a simple Sleeping Draught. All you have to do is make sure Carbbe and Goyle find them. Once they're asleep, pull out a few of their hairs and hide them in a broom closet."

"And what about you two?" Harry demanded irritably, "Whose hair are you ripping out, then?"

"I've already got mine, and so's Maggie. I plucked a hair off of Millicent Bulstrode's robes at the Dueling Club, and Maggie literally pulled a hair off of Pansy Parkinson's head. So we'll just say we've decided to come back for Christmas," Hermione explained.

I grimaced, "So many things could go wrong, it's horrifying."

Hermione and I headed back to Myrtle's bathroom to wait for Harry. Hermione had three glasses and looked down at the mud like potion nervously.

"I think I've done everything right…" she whispered.

"If anyone did, it's you," I reassured as Harry came running in, brandishing a hair and declaring, "I shall now become Goyle."

"Excellent. I'll separate it into three glasses and we'll add the hairs, and we'll have exactly an hour before we change back," Hermione explained as we all changed into Slytherin robes. She dumped the glop into each glass with a ladle and handed one to each of us. Hermione added her hair to the potion and it turned a sickly yellow. I followed suit and the potion turned a horrific, vomit green color. Harry's also did so and it turned into a khaki, booger tinged.

"Alright, we better separate. Goyle and Bulstrode aren't going to fit in this stall," I sighed. I went into a separate stall, pinched my nose, and managed to down the disgusting potion. I nearly threw up almost immediately into the toilet, but instead held onto it tightly as I felt like all my insides had turned into snakes and were thrashing around inside of me, violently trying to get out, and everything began to feel like it was melting off my face.

And then, suddenly, it was over. I stood up and felt instantly smaller – almost anorexically thin, with no breasts or hips to speak of. Pansy must not have even begun puberty, or was starving herself or _something_. Her hair was much, _much_ thinner and much, _much_ shorter and I just felt more angular all around. I exited the stall and slowly walked over to a mirror. Her pug face stared back at me, causing a loathing to rise up in my throat. She was so much tinier than me, and her face was sharp and defined in an ugly and unforgiving way. Her eyes were a dull brown that made me blanch as I looked at myself. I had never thought myself vain before this moment, but I realized then that, for all its faults, I preferred my round face, curves, immense amount of hair and green eyes. It made me seem like a softer person than this.

Well, as soft as _I_ could ever seem.

"Are you two okay?" I heard the low raspy voice of Goyle call out.

"Yes," I responded in the very cruel, high pitched voice of Pansy Parkinson. A door unlocked and I watched as Goyle came out of the stall and came to look at a mirror. He was staring at it in shock and turned to look at me with a similar expression.

"This is… insane," I whispered.

"We'd better get going," Harry groaned, "We've still got to find where the Slytherin common room is. I only hope we can find someone to follow…"

I shook my head, "Wow. Just wow. It's so strange to see Goyle piecing together thought." I went to Hermione's door and banged on it, shouting for us to leave.

"I – I don't think I'm going to come after all. You two go on without me," Hermione insisted in a very, _very_ high pitched voice.

"Hermione, we know Millicent Bulstrode's ugly, no one's going to know it's you…" I sighed.

"No – really – I don't think I'll come. You two hurry up, you're wasting time –" Hermione insisted.

Harry looked at me in confusion that was definitely more the expression of Goyle.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry murmured very softly. It was the strangest voice I had ever heard him use.

"Fine – I'm fine – go on," Hermione insisted.

Harry sighed and we both left, me trying to walk in a more ladylike and feminine fashion, Harry trying to walk more stiff and thug like as we headed towards the dungeons, where we hypothesized the common room might be.

A girl with very long curly hair emerged and I was about to ask where the common room was when I saw she was a Ravenclaw. We both continued on to the dungeons through the deserted corridors, feeling more and more discouraged by the moment. We saw another student coming around the corner and rushed forward eagerly just to see it was Percy Weasley.

Harry and I exchanged looks and walked right past him in disappointment.

"Get off to your dormitories," he ordered sternly, "It's not safe to go wandering around dark corridors these days." Neither of us had even said anything.

"There you are, Goyle!" I heard a voice call. We both spun around to see Malfoy walking towards us, strutting as he usually did, "And Parkinson, I didn't know you were coming back – what a pleasant surprise!"

I smiled weakly before realizing that was out of character, changing my facial expression back to stern, and nodding.

"Excellent. Goyle, I can't believe you've lost Crabbe. I guess we'll have to make do with Parkinson," Malfoy lughed.

Malfoy looked over at Percy scathingly, "And what're you doing down here, Weasley?"

Percy looked horrified as he responded, "You want to show a bit more respect to a school prefect! I don't like your attitude!"

Malfoy sneered and motioned for us to follow him as we continued down the corridors. He began speaking again, stating, "That Peter Weasley -"

"Percy," I corrected automatically.

"Whatever. I've noticed him sneaking around a lot lately. And I bet I know what he's up to. He thinks he's going to catch Slytherin's heir single-handed," Malfoy laughed shortly.

I raised my eyebrows at Harry in silent excitement as we stopped in front of a bare, damp stone wall.

"Parkinson, what's the new password?" Malfoy asked.

"Um…" I paused, feeling color rise to my cheeks.

"Oh, yeah, _pure blood_!" Malfoy declared, and a stone door concealed in the wall slid open. Malfoy marched through it and we followed dutifully.

The common room was much, much too wet for my tastes. Everything was green, dark and flickering in the light of the fire.

"Let's sit down here," Malfoy gestured to some chairs as we all sat around them, "It's quite nice to not have to worry about the older students taking the good chairs."

I nodded weakly in agreement.

"Something bothering you, Parkinson?" Malfoy asked me, "Feeling ill?"

"Ran… Ran into that Johnson girl on the stairs," I quickly made up.

"Ah, of course. She makes everyone ill," Malfoy laughed scathingly, "Acting like the Queen of the castle with those Weasley twins and Potter and the Mudblood."

Harry's grip on his armchair tightened and Malfoy noticed.

"You too, Goyle? You usually have a strong stomach for Johnson's idiocy," Malfoy raised an eyebrow.

"Not today, must have eaten too much," Harry managed to grunt.

"Well, go up to the hospital wing and give all those Mudbloods a kick from me," Malfoy sniggered, "You know, I'm surprised the _Daily Prophet_ hasn't reported all these attacks yet… I suppose Dumbledore's trying to hush it all up. He'll be sacked if it doesn't stop soon. Father's always said old Dumbledore's the worst thing that's ever happened to this place. He loves Muggle-borns. A decent headmaster would never've let slime like that Creevey in."

Malfoy stood up and began to imitate Colin with his camera, saying in a high pitched voice, "Potter, can I have your picture, Potter? Can I have your autograph? Can I lick your shoes, please, Potter?"

He looked at us not laughing at his imitation and snapped, "What's the _matter_ with you two?"

We forced ourselves to laugh and Malfoy shrugged, continuing on, "Saint Potter, the Mudbloods' friend. He's another one with no proper wizard feeling, or he wouldn't go around with that jumped up Granger Mudblood. And people think _he's_ Slytherin's heir!"

I looked at Harry out of the corner of my eye eagerly, waiting for Malfoy's next statement –

"I _wish_ I knew who it _is_," Malfoy sighed dramatically, "I could help them."

I felt my eyes widen and Harry quickly asked, "You must have some idea who's behind it all…"

"You know I haven't, Goyle, how many times do I have to tell you? And Father won't tell me _anything_ about the last time the Chamber was opened either. Of course, it was fifty years ago, so it was before his time, but he knows all about it, and he says that it was kept quiet and it'll look suspicious if I know too much about it. But I know one thing – last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mudblood _died_. So I bet it's a matter of time before one of them's killed this time… I hope it's Granger," he finished with relish.

Harry's fists clenched at his side and I had to interject before he punched Malfoy quite out of character.

"Was the person who opened it last time, you know, caught?" I asked.

"Oh yeah… whoever it was was expelled," Malfoy explained, "They're probably still in Azkaban."

I'd have to ask about Azkaban later – Parkinson was pureblood and if I didn't know what it was Malfoy would be suspicious.

"Father says to keep my head down and let the Heir of Slytherin get on with it. He says the school needs ridding of all the Mudblood filth, but not to get mixed up in it. Of course, he's got a lot on his plate at the moment. You know the Ministry of Magic raided our manor last week?" Malfoy continued.

I tried to look concerned. Harry was still furious, but managed to mask it behind a look of idiocy.

"Yeah… Luckily, they didn't find much. Father's got some _very_ valuable Dark Arts stuff. But luckily, we've got our own secret chamber under the drawing-room floor…" Malfoy continued.

I looked over at Harry and felt my eyes widen. His hair was getting darker and messier by the second and I think I saw his eyes turning green.

I jumped to my feet just as Harry did – I must have been changing, back, too. No lie, I felt my breasts growing quite rapidly.

"Medicine for my stomach," Harry grunted and we sprinted through he common room and dashed away, hoping Malfoy hadn't noticed anything. We finally reached Myrtle's bathroom, panting, changed back into ourselves.

"Well, it wasn't a complete waste of time," Harry sighed, "I know we still haven't found out who's doing the attacks, but I'm going to tell Ron about the Malfoy's drawing room so his dad can get whatever's underneath it."

I walked over to Hermione's stall as Harry put on his glasses, hammering the door and shouting, "Hermione, we've got loads to tell you…"

"Go away!" Hermione squeaked.

I looked at Harry with my eyebrows raised.

"What's the matter?" I asked, "We're all back to normal now…"

Moaning Myrtle came to us with a gleeful expression.

"Oh, wait till you see," she cheered, "It's _awful –_"

We stepped back as the stall door opened and Hermione emerged with her robes pulled over her head.

"What is it?" I asked in concern.

Hermione let the robes fall and both Harry and I jumped back in complete shock.

Her face was covered in black fur, her eyes had turned yellow, there were pointed ears poking through her hair and I saw her robes were sticking up awkwardly from her back – she had a _tail_.

"It was c-cat hair!" Hermione cried, "Bulstrode m-must have a cat! And the p-potion isn't supposed to be for animal transformations!"

"Oh no," Harry sighed.

"You'll be teased something _dreadful_," Myrtle cheered.

"It's okay, Hermione," I reassured, "Madam Pomfrey never asks too many questions, so we'll bring you to the Hospital Wing."

It took a long time for us to help her through the corridors, and we were very careful doing so as it was the middle of the night. However, we eventually managed to get to the Hospital wing, where Pomfrey reassured she could change her back; it would just take a little over a month.

I spent the rest of the holidays pulling pranks on Malfoy with Fred and George – dying his hair a lovely puke green this time, causing him to scream out against us and go running through the corridors in tears. He was literally so distraught he was given a calming draught by Professor Snape – well, force fed one actually. Once the potion wore off, we then had the pleasure of causing a pack of fireworks to follow him and explode in his ears all throughout New Year's Day, causing him to scream at random intervals and making all of the Gryffindors (and some of the teachers) snicker. Unfortunately, Snape pulled me aside and begged me to stop torturing the kid before someone went deaf, so we stopped the shenanigans.

I also spent a good deal of time helping Ginny learn to archer, and she looked a little bit healthier because of it. I was truly hoping for real improvement.

When term resumed, the entire school was convinced that Hermione had been attacked and tried to see her, so that Pomfrey had to give her extra privacy with drapes. Hermione kept up with her schoolwork through my and Harry's help, more cheerful with each human feature that reappeared on her face.

As we came back from the Hospital Wing, we passed by Myrtle's bathroom and heard Filch grumbling, hissing "_even more work for me! Mopping all night, like I haven't got enough to do! No, this is the final straw, I'm going to Dumbledore…_"

Harry and I exchanged glances and ran to the bathroom and saw that a great flood of water had soaked the corridor, and looked to still be coming up from the bathroom.

"Let's go look," I groaned, dragging Harry by the wrist back into that too-much-visited toilet. We went inside and saw that myrtle was crying louder and harder than ever before. She was hiding in the toilet and literally screaming with sobs.

"What's up, Myrtle?" Harry asked.

"Who's that?" Myrtle moaned, "Come to throw something else at me?"

I waded through the water with Harry as he responded, "Why would I throw something at you?"

"Don't ask me," Myrtle shouted, floating up to the air and causing more water to appear, "Here I am, minding my own business, and someone thinks it's funny to throw a book at me…."

"But it can't hurt you if someone throws something at you," Harry responded reasonably, "I mean, it'd just go right through you, wouldn't it?"

Myrtle seemed even more upset as she shrieked, "Sure, let's all throw books at Myrtle because _she_ can't feel it! Ten points if you can get it through her stomach! Fifty points if it goes through her head! Well ha, ha, ha! What a lovely game, I _don't _think!"

"Who threw it at you, anyway?" Harry interjected.

"_I_ don't know… I was just sitting in the U-bend, thinking about death, and it fell right through the top of my head," Myrtle glared, "It's over there, it got washed out…"

Harry and I looked over at the sink where a small, think book lay. It had a shabby black cover and was soaking. Harry picked it up and frowned at it with me. He opened it, where the name T. M. Riddle was written on the first page.

"I know that name!" I gasped, "T. M. Riddle got an award for special services to the school fifty years ago."

"Why do you even know that?" Harry asked in amazement.

"Because Filch made me polish his shield a million times in detention – I sprained my ankle and I kept tripping over stuff and getting it dirty again. I must have polished it a million times," I explained.

Harry looked through all the pages. They were completely blank, no smudges or anything.

"He never wrote in it," Harry frowned.

"I wonder why someone wanted to flush it away?" I asked.

Harry turned to the back cover and read the name of a variety store on Vauxhall Road, London.

"He must have been muggle-born," Harry paused, "To have bought a diary from Vauxhall Road…"

"It seems rather useless, Harry," I shook my head, "You should just chuck it."

He pocketed the book, however, and we left the bathroom with even more confusion.

I then left Harry's company to go to Snape's office for tea, as per usual on Monday afternoons. Harry was going to go spend some time with Hermione in my absence as I reached the dungeons and entered his office calmly.

"Ah, Miss Johnson," he nodded, "Sit down."

I did so, taking the usual mug set out in front of me, already with two sugars mixed in. Snape began sipping his own tea as I took a biscuit from the plate and munched on it happily.

"How were your holidays?" Snape asked calmly. I almost felt like barking out a laugh and saying _well, Hermione brewed this impossible potion to make that allowed me to change into Pansy Parkinson and Harry to change into Goyle so we impersonated Slytherins, snuck into their common room, and questioned Malfoy whether he was the heir of Slytherin_. But I knew Snape wouldn't appreciate this story, so I answered, "Pretty quiet."

"Really? With Granger, turning into a cat?" Snape raised an eyebrow.

I shrugged innocently, "She was pranked by some Slytherins. It was quite awful, really."

"It looks," Snape paused, "Like she took polyjuice potion, but with a cat hair added."

I didn't miss a beat when I answered, "Malfoy or someone must have gotten some older Slytherins to brew it, and then added cat hair because he knew this would happen."

Snape looked at me skeptically but decided to not press the issue and sipped some tea. I knew, as much as he loathed Harry and was irritated on a constant basis by Hermione, he didn't really feel like getting me into trouble for something I'd gotten away with.

After he sipped some more of his tea he put down the mug and frowned at me again, "Why did you never tell me that your adopted brother could speak to snakes?"

I almost dropped my mug, "Why… Why do you care?"

"Because it's… well," Snape paused, clearly thinking hard, "It's not something viewed positively by the public, and I could have prevented the dueling incident from occurring."

"Well, you instigated it, and now everyone thinks Harry's the heir," I frowned in annoyance.

"He's obviously not," Snape snapped before sighing and continuing, "Well. It means I underestimated Mr. Potter."

I looked at him in pure confusion, "What… do you mean?"

"Miss Johnson," Snape looked over at me almost sternly, "One day, the Dark Lord will return. You are aware of this as much as anyone."

"Painfully aware, I might add," I grimaced.

Snape looked at me, seemingly sizing me up, before continuing, "When that day comes, Harry Potter is the only one who can stop him."

I felt my eyes widen, "Surely not the _only_-"

"The _only one_," Snape frowned, "You can't be surprised by this, given the events of last year, and when he was a baby."

I thought back and shook my head.

"Dumbledore does not wish for him to know this yet. He is still too young. Come to think of it, he will be upset that I even told _you_, given how tied you are to him and how close and how you, too, are still very young. But he didn't order me not to tell you and I don't believe in shielding people from the cold, hard, truth," Snape explained further, "If you tell Potter, I'll wring your neck."

I nodded weakly and asked, "But how does his being a parselmouth mean you've underestimated him?"

"Because the Dark Lord is a parselmouth," Snape murmured, "And any dark power, even an accidental one, can only help Mr. Potter."

I finished my tea in silence and walked back to the Common Room. He was right – I _was_ too young to know about this.

_I pretend and I pretend and I pretend to be an adult_, I thought in almost an emotionless way as I went up the staircases, _I swear and I go on adventures and I think I'm making tough choices, choices that adults would make. But even if I am, I'm still a kid. I'm still a kid who doesn't want to deal with the fact that her brother has one of the greatest burdens in all of history._

I entered the Common Room and saw Harry sitting at a table, who instantly beamed at me. I managed to smile back, but all I wanted to do was cry.

AN: Well! That chapter ended on a cheery note, didn't it? Haha, ha... ha. Currently working on the picture for this story. My _God_ I can't draw. It's horrifically bad.

In other news, I've finally decided on the theme song for this story - for Maggie, really. It's _Out Of Breath_ by the Silversun Pickups, and here are the lyrics (I've bolded the reasons why they're Maggie's theme song for the story):

_"**Forgive me, forgive me**_  
**_ If I seem alarmed_**  
**_ I had a motionless moment_**  
**_ No harm's done_**

**_ You see right through a million_**  
_** Words that I harrowed** _  
_ And built of mountains of shrapnel_  
**_ I've made my mind up, my mind up_**  
**_ Because the line drawn in the sand's wrong_**

_ Where all the pioneers have gone_  
**_ And all that's left are unresolved_**  
**_ Out of step opinions_**

**_ And you say the word and I will come_**  
**_ With overbearing clouds of woe_**  
**_ Out of breath but not alone_**

**_ Forgive me, forgive me_**  
**_ If I'm straight for awhile_**  
**_ I made a poisonless process_**  
**_ That is getting old_**

_ I always wind up_  
_ With boxed-up over crinkles _  
_ A motive, motives_  
**_ I've made my mind up, my mind up_**  
**_ And I could care less who's turned off_**

_ Where all the pioneers have gone_  
**_ And all that's left are unresolved_**  
**_ Out of step opinions_**

**_ And you say the word and I will come_**  
**_ With overbearing clouds of woe_**  
**_ Out of breath but not alone_**

_ Who's turned off_  
_ Who's turned off_

_ They always say "Hooray!"_  
_ It has to leave us _  
**_ You were not alone when_**  
**_ We have been stretched too far_**

_ Where all the pioneers have gone_  
**_ And all that's left are unresolved_**  
**_ Out of step opinions_**  
**_ It's like we're dead once more_**

**_ But you say the word and I will come_**  
**_ With overbearing clouds of woe_**  
_** Out of breath but not alone**"_

__Basically, I like it because it's describing who Maggie is for Harry in a way - she will come, no matter how upset she is herself, to help him when he needs her. That's the real gist behind the choice. Then the whole 'all that's left are unresolved out of step opinions' describes the Death Eaters and the whole anti-muggle born mania; the line "I've made my mind up, my mind up, and I could care less whose turned off" is perfect for Maggie's attitude to the people around her. And then the beginning epitomizes perfectly what Maggie will increasingly become as the series goes on - someone who completely ignores her own feelings to help the people she cares about, namely, Harry, Hermione, Neville, her family, the Weasleys, and Luna (eventually.) Anywho, it's a GREAT song and I've been basically listening to it on repeat one, it helps me write, and when I actually figured out the lyrics I was just like "woah, man. Woah." (I'm a bit of a hippie.) LISTEN TO IT, ITS FANTASTIC.

Shout out time! Hahaha sorry it took so long to get to this point. So! Thank you avencher989 and The Rage (that's an AWESOME pen name dude) for favoriting/following this story! Then, thank you so much (as always) to my lovely reviewers: rangerhero, Guest, Cooky Crumbla, DreamCatcher1991, The Rage, and Edmond O'Donald! You have no idea how excited I get when I check my email and there's a new review, for serious. I shall start replying to reviews today because I do enjoy the dialogue about the story.

So! I shall begin work on the next chapter, I look forward to your thoughts, and as always, please review! And listen to Out of Breath. But more so REVIEW!


	14. Ch 13: February – May 8, 1993, Hogwarts

Chapter Thirteen: February – May 8, 1993, Hogwarts

Hermione finally left the Hospital Wing at the beginning of February, soon after I had learned of my brother's future fate. Harry immediately showed her the wordless diary, and got fairly excited.

"Ooh, it might have hidden powers," Hermione declared, looking closely at the diary.

"The hidden power of doing absolutely nothing," I stated dully. Harry looked at me in mild concern and I rolled my eyes in response. Faking enthusiasm wasn't really in my repertoire of emotions at the moment, and I didn't even want to bother having to lie to Harry about it.

"You should just throw it out," I continued, "It's of no use in the slightest." _And to be frank, for some reason it gives me the creeps. I mean, everything nowadays gives me the creeps, but that does too. I can't explain it but it does. _

"I wish I knew why someone _did_ try to throw it out," Harry shook his head in confusion, "I wouldn't mind knowing how Riddle got an award for special services to Hogwarts, either."

"Could've been anything," I rolled my eyes, "Maybe he got twenty O.W.L.s or became an animagus or murdered Myrtle to save the school from her whining or something."

Hermione and Harry shared very significant looks and I suddenly realized with them.

"Wait… or maybe he caught the Heir of Slytherin fifty years ago…" I whispered. Both Hermione and Harry nodded eagerly in agreement.

"His diary would probably tell us everything!" Hermione gasped eagerly, "Where the Chamber is, how to open it, the creature, everything! And whoever is behind the attacks now _wouldn't_ want the diary lying around!"

"The only problem is is that there's _nothing written in the diary_," I insisted in annoyance.

Hermione pulled out her wand and frowned at the little book, "It might be invisible ink!" She tapped the diary with her wand three times and murmured, "_Aparecium!_" But nothing happened. Hermione seemed undeterred and she pulled out a bright red eraser from her bag.

"It's a Revealer, I got it in Diagon Alley," Hermione explained as she rubbed hard on January first, but nothing happened.

"Riddle just got a diary and didn't want to write in it, like any normal teenage boy," I rolled my eyes, "I wouldn't have had the patience either."

But Harry still didn't throw away the diary, and as the days dragged on I remained in my strange depression. I sat by the fire, doing my homework lazily, ignoring requests to go on adventures from the twins or to go to the greenhouses with Neville, to shoot arrows with Ginny or to explore the library with Hermione. Harry didn't have many requests of me, he simply spent endless time just thumbing through the pages of the diary whilst I stared off into the fire.

There hadn't been any attacks for a long time, and everyone in the castle seemed to be in a better mood as a result. Ginny herself looked a lot more healthy and cheerful during the day, much to the relief of Fred and George.

"But she's passed on the gloominess disease to _you_," George muttered irritably as I sat at a table and doodled wordlessly on a piece of paper. I simply shrugged in response and continued to draw the rather depressing landscape I had envisioned of a dying stag. I don't know, precisely, why I was drawing it, but for some reason the image just imprinted itself in my head and didn't let go.

Fred looked over my shoulder rather invasively, "Well, she seems to be drawing the death of Prongs."

"I still disagree with you on that. I don't think Prongs was a stag, I think that nickname must have meant he was a moose," George rolled his eyes and sat across from me.

I began to draw a dragon in the corner, which was crying tears that had steam coming up from them as they hit the ground.

"Alright, and now she has a dragon crying over the death of a stag. Maggie's officially lost it," George sighed.

"We need to do _something_, Georgie, our adventures just aren't the same anymore!" Fred whined.

"Maggie, stop being depressed," George said, but I could tell by his expression he knew how ridiculous he sounded. I looked up at him and glared a little.

"Seriously though, what's eating you?" Fred asked, finally sitting down next to George. I folded up my drawing and shrugged wordlessly.

"Anything we can do to cheer you up?" Fred insisted, "An adventure, a prank, a quest of some sort?"

"Seriously, Maggie, no matter what's bothering you, you shouldn't let it control your life. Even if it's a temporary problem, none of us like to see you like this," George smiled kindly. He had always been the gentler of the twins. "And, if it's a permanent or long term problem, well, it's just not good for the _soul_ to be depressed that long!"

I looked up at him, meeting his hazel eyes in shock. He was completely right, of course – this _was_ a very long term problem and I couldn't spend the rest of that time being depressed over Harry's imminent horrors. I should be celebrating his life, enjoying his company, and reveling in there still being time before we really had to worry about Lord Voldy-Pants again. I was wasting the time we had.

"Alright, alright," I sighed, "What do you have in mind?"

"HUZZAH!" Fred and George cheered, jumping up and pumping their fists in the air. I sat back and shook my head in amazement, laughing silently.

"Seriously, what's the plan?" I laughed weakly.

"We shall go on a magical adventure to a place you have never been before!" Fred declared, helping me out of the chair. George helped me put on my coat with a wide grin.

"Somewhere in the castle I haven't been before?" I looked at them in mild confusion, "Are you guys taking me to the Chamber of Secrets?"

"Sadly, no," Fred shook his head, "That would be useful knowledge to have, but we're as clueless to you as to its location."

"And we never said we're going somewhere in the castle!" George laughed, "Get some galleons, we're going to a _different_ place of adventure."

I went up to my room and grabbed my purse with my allowance, coming down to find them again all bundled up themselves.

"Come on, we've got to be sneaky about this," George murmured. I walked with them cautiously through the castle. I saw that Fred had the Marauder's Map open as we went over to the third floor. We continued to walk along, quite silently, until we reached the statue of a humpbacked witch. It stared down at us with its crooked tooth and squinting eye as I stood by Fred and George with my arms crossed over my chest (which, to my dismay, had grown again. Bullocks. Oh, and those grew too. Urgh.)

"_Dissendium_," Fred murmured, tapping the statue with his wand. The statue suddenly revealed a door, behind which was a passageway.

"Where does it go?" I whispered softly, wrapping my scarf around my face.

"You'll see," Fred laughed.

"It is a surprise," George declared, "Come on!"

We descended through the passage, which was dark, wet and cold. I shivered violently and George, for reasons unknown, gave me his own jacket as we walked through it. I mumbled in protest about him being cold but he just shook his head and we continued on.

Finally we came out on the other side in a cellar. It was much warmer in here so I gave George his coat back. The cellar was filled with all the candy there could possibly be in the world – cauldron cakes, pumpkin pasties, chocolate frogs, you name it, it was there.

"Where… are we?" I gasped, "Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory or something?"

"What's that?" George frowned at me.

"Anyways, we're in Honeydukes' cellar – Honeydukes is the candy shop in Hogsmeade. You've heard of Hogsmeade, right?" Fred beamed.

"Of course, it's the village everyone goes to some weekends – well, the older students anyway. But _I'm_ not allowed to be here and it isn't even a designated weekend!" I hissed in amazement.

"First off, I just heard you list a string of rules. What's the number _one_ Weasley-Johnson guideline?" Fred teased.

I rolled my eyes but replied with a slight grin, "Never follow the rules, unless it involves hurting another person who doesn't deserve it. Then, follow the rules."

"You kind of listed guidelines one _and_ two, but correct," George laughed.

"Alright alright," I smiled, "But won't we get caught by someone?"

"Usually the shopkeepers turn a blind eye when we come illegally – since no one really knows how we manage it, they figure we've got permission. At any rate, we always go places where we can pay for what we're looking at, and they won't want to turn away paying customers," Fred explained.

"We should get out of here, though, before someone finds us here. Down in the cellar, someone might get angry," George winked and we all crept up the stairs and managed to sneak into the actual shop of Honeydukes.

It was enormous, and the amount of sweets there was absolutely fantastic. I wanted to buy something of everything but Fred and George held me back, explaining that there were many more shops to explore.

"Not to mention, you turn thirteen the second day of term. If you were any older you'd be in the proper year for visiting Hogsmeade," George commented thoughtfully as we entered the snowy street. It wasn't as cold as in the passageway, presumably because it was above ground, so when George offered his coat again I refused. I was from Braemar. Cold was never my weakness.

We continued walking through the village and Fred and George directed me to a small pub called _The Three Broomsticks_.

"You are in for a treat," Fred beamed, "Butterbeer!"

"Beer?" I raised an eyebrow, "I'm only thirteen, mate."

"It doesn't have a lot of alcohol – you really can't get drunk off of it. Trust me, I've tried," Fred sighed.

"He drank almost thirteen glasses of the stuff and was only mildly tipsy – and he drank them _fast_," George laughed.

"Merlin, I had to piss afterwards," Fred shook his head sadly, "Maybe if I had managed to drink _twenty_ of the things in under thirty minutes…"

"Anyways, you're a bit smaller than us, so it might have done more to you," George grinned and I stuck my tongue out at him, "And you're a girl. So if you start to act drunk, we _will_ be removing you from the premises."

"Wait, wait, _hold up_," I laughed, "I'm a _girl?_"

"Alcohol affects women more a – and you were talking about how you don't act like a girl," George laughed, catching on.

"Honestly, George, keep up," Fred grinned.

"And, no matter how much you try to hide it with those oversized sweaters, everyone knows you're a girl," George grinned cheekily. I stepped on his foot, my face burning bright red as he continued to laugh loudly.

"Stop talking about the twin devils," I hissed in annoyance.

"Is that what you call them?" George roared with laughter, "Seriously?"

"They keep growing and I haven't given them my permission to do so," I muttered peevishly, my face still feeling like it was on fire.

"First off, it doesn't work like that," George chortled as Fred fell over on the snow laughing hysterically, "Second off, you'll thank them later, when your mind finally catches up with your body."

"What in the blazes is _that_ supposed to mean?!" I threw my arms in the air in annoyance.

"Those are what men call, and I quote many a mate of mine, 'bloke-magnets," George nodded with a grin, "And the more they grow, the larger their magnetism."

"I WILL KILL YOU GEORGE FABIAN WEASLEY!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, "MURDER YOU, FLAY YOU ALIVE!"

"That would be breaking Guideline number two, which you grouped up with Guideline number one," George chortled. Fred was still rolling around in the snow.

"FRED GIDEON WEASLEY YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH," I roared. Fred laughed even harder in response.

I walked briskly past them into the shop in anger, my face still as red as a tomato. The followed quickly behind me, Fred still laughing hysterically, causing the stares of many people in the pub.

"They can be bird magnets too, if that's the way you fancy," George offered calmly, still grinning a little at my discomfort.

"To begin with, I don't fancy _anyone_ right now," I hissed, realizing my red face could permanently remain that way at this point, "Second off, no, blokes are fine, thanks."

"Good," George beamed. I looked at him in simple awe and shook my head.

"Not that it's wrong for you to like birds, that is. I mean, our brother Charlie prefers blokes after all and…" George continued on.

"And you should stop talking," Fred finally gasped for breath, "Before mum hears you across the bloody country and starts freaking out over what you just said."

"Let's just get her some Butterbeer, shall we?" George laughed, heading up to the bar as Fred and I sat down at a booth. Fred was laughing more quietly now and just shaking his head in amusement.

"I will kick you underneath this table," I hissed. Fred grinned at that as George came back with three Butterbeers, which were golden and frothing on the top. As I sipped mine, I was amazed with how sweet and delicious it tasted, and quickly downed the whole mug.

"Another?" George raised his eyebrows. I nodded with a grin and George, still looking apprehensive, went back to refill the mug. I paid him for both glasses joyfully and downed the second one in only two gulps.

"Alright, she could possibly get drunk at this rate," Fred laughed.

"Bring it," I responded cheerfully.

"Oh dear," George rolled his eyes as he got me a third mug. Both he and Fred were still on their first.

Maybe it was part the depression over Harry, which I still wasn't really over; maybe it was part the desire to grow up to face the challenges ahead; maybe it was the ever-present need to impress Fred and George; maybe it was a need for something fun and cheerful; or maybe it was just my usual need to be impulsive and reckless. Either way, I managed to make my way (and pay for them, thanks) through ten Butterbeers within a half hour. Needless to say, I was _extremely_ tipsy, and had never felt that particular sensation before. I had even planned on continuing to drink, however, George stopped me and took away my coin purse so I couldn't go up and get one myself.

"Look, we might not get in trouble here, but back at the castle a professor's going to notice that you're almost drunk," George sighed.

"We forgot to factor in her age, Georgie, of _course_ she's more susceptible," Fred groaned.

"Wh-What about Guide… line one?" I giggled, hiccupping. George groaned.

"Guideline two provisions for hurting yourself and others, and if you drink any more Butterbeers, kiddo, you'll be hurting yourself and your still growing brain and body, or have we forgotten that?" George raised an eyebrow at me.

I shrugged nonchalantly and fell back across the booth's bench, "This is comfy. I'll sleep here."

"That's nonsensical," Fred called, leaning over the table to look down at me, "Hermione will throw a fit."

"Hermione can… do stuff," I settled on, rather than saying one of the many lovely inappropriate phrases Fred and George would often say.

"Oh no. She's not even attempting to use our many colorful phrases, Freddie," George groaned.

"She's lost the creativity and nerve to do so!" Fred gasped.

"Aren't inhibitions supposed to be lowered?" George commented thoughtfully.

I sat up and leaned across the bench to George, putting my hands on his shoulders, "Don't believe everything you read!"

"Alright," George rolled his eyes, "Let's get out of here. It looks like she's gotten quite the first experience in Hogsmeade."

"But… But Zonko's! Pranks! Shenanigans!" I protested, refusing to leave the booth seat.

"Sleep! Not getting caught! Walking off the tipsy-ness!" Fred responded cheerfully.

"I refuse to move! I shall not _be_ moved!" I declared, raising my fist into the air.

"Alright, drastic measures time," George groaned, and before I knew what was happening he had picked me up again like he had in the Forbidden Forest.

"PUT ME DOWNN!" I whined, hitting his back with my fist.

"No, Margaret Natalie Johnson. It is not in your best interests," George responded as we left the pub and began walking back to Honeydukes.

"BUT – MONKEYSHINES! WE MUST HAVE TOMFOOLERIES!" I shouted in protest. Fred was walking behind us and just shaking his head.

"How many synonyms for trouble making can she come up with before we get back to Hogwarts?" Fred asked thoughtfully.

"I'm out," I responded sadly.

"Darn, that was good," Fred chuckled as we waited until the shop owners were busy with a customer and managed to sneak back down to the cellar and through the door to the passageway.

I began shivering violently, an effect of both whatever was going on with me and the coldness of the underground corridor. George couldn't do much about it this time so he simply walked quicker.

"I like that you gave me my coat," I declared, not fully aware of what I was saying, "It was very gallant of you."

"No problem," George answered. I couldn't see his face, but I continued anyway, saying, "And it is very chivalrous of you to carry me through the passageway."

Fred looked amazed at what I was saying as George responded, "Well, I wanted us to leave, so… yeah."

"And it was also awesome when you rescued me from the giant spider of dooooooom," I over pronounced, starting to feel rather sleepy now. Fred was looking up at the ceiling and not at my eyes. I was much too sluggish to pull back my head to look at George.

"Well, there I had no choice, didn't I? Didn't want our prodigy to be eaten by a mutant arachnid," George explained calmly. I was curious as to whether he was grinning, or rolling my eyes at my behavior, or simply concentrating on carrying me up through to the castle in a reasonable amount of time.

I heard him sputter at one point so I asked, "What's wrong?"

"Urgh. Maggie, you have too much hair. Some of it got in my mouth," George groaned, "Did you _have_ to wear it in a ponytail, or whatever it is you call this contraption?"

"Yep!" I giggled mercilessly.

"Why on _Earth_ did it get in your mouth?" Fred asked in amazement.

"Oh never _mind_," George groaned as we finally reached the end of the passageway. Fred rushed forward to open up the door and George set me down so I could walk, but I was rather dizzy and fell on him anyway, my arms still around his neck.

I hiccupped once and laughed, "Well, now _I'm_ as clumsy as _Neville_!"

"Oh good Merlin," Fred groaned, "This is going to be a nightmare in the Common Room."

"We're going to have to rely on Hermione's good graces to get her into bed," George sighed, "Come _on_, Maggie, you have to walk, you can't just hang onto me all the time."

"But you're at the perfect height for it!" I joked.

"Maggie, you're on the tips of your toes and stretching your arms out completely, he's so much taller than you," Fred rolled his eyes.

"Well! Then he should carry me again!" I proposed. I didn't know _why_ I wanted him to so much, but I did.

"Oh for the love of Merlin!" George sighed, leaning down to pick me up again, "When you remember this in the morning, because you aren't blackout drunk, I demand a full apology."

"NEVER!" I shouted triumphantly. Fred was shaking his head in bemusement as we managed to get up to the seventh floor and Fred opened the portrait hole.

Inside there were a lot of students mulling about, so George set me down again. Hermione immediately rushed forward, along with Harry.

"Don't ask too many questions," Fred sighed, "But Maggie's a little… well…"

"Woo alcohol!" I cheered before George covered my mouth with his hand.

"Drunk?!" Hermione and Harry said in unison with their eyebrows raised.

"We made a terrible decision to give her Butterbeer," Fred groaned.

"I always heard Butterbeer wasn't strong at all, though – not for people," Hermione hissed.

"Well, some people are more susceptible to alcohol in general than others. And then she went and drank ten mugs of the stuff in under half an hour," George sighed, still stopping me from shouting to the common room.

"_Honestly_, I've never seen such blatantly _horrific_ judgment –" Hermione growled.

"Oh you can yell at us later, just _please_ get her into bed before a professor comes running," Fred begged.

"Better do as he says, Hermione," Harry, unlike Hermione, wasn't pissed. He was clearly holding back tears of laughter as he looked at me struggling sluggishly with George.

"Honestly, you two drive me _completely mental_," Hermione snarled as she grabbed me from George, making sure to cover my mouth almost immediately, and walked me up to the dormitory.

The next day was Valentine's Day and I woke up with a monstrous headache. I got dressed lazily, looking even more sloppy than normal, and wore my hair down. George wasn't kidding – I had a _lot_ of hair, it was very thin hair but there were so many strands the entire mass was a huge dark brown blob and it went down almost to my butt. I barely combed through it as I stumbled down from the dormitory and dragged my feet to the Great Hall.

When I entered the Hall, my headache got worse.

The walls were covered with large, obnoxiously pink flowers. Annoying heart shaped confetti was falling from the light, paisley blue ceiling. I wanted to vomit almost immediately and I nearly did, holding my mouth with one hand and my stomach with my other arm and forcing it back down as I made my way to the Gryffindor table and sat down.

Harry was looking at me and clearly trying to not laugh again. Hermione was glaring a little bit but I couldn't take her seriously with the heart confetti trapped in her bushy light brown hair.

"How are we feeling today, cuz?" Harry grinned maliciously.

"Oh _shut up_ Harry," I groaned, rubbing my temples, "I have the _worst_ headache of my life right now and _pink-land_ isn't helping."

"Isn't it fantastic?" Harry laughed, "The moment I came in I thought, _ah, of all the things to make Maggie's hangover worse – how about her least favorite color?_ It's beautiful. It couldn't be _planned_ better than this."

"It's burning into my poor retinas," I moaned.

"This is bloody brilliant, I'm telling you. Now, if you weren't hung-over I would be just as upset, I mean good _Merlin_ this is obnoxious. But you've… you've just provided the best silver lining of all time!" Harry was fully on laughing now, a loud bark that made me cover my ears.

"Well _I_ for one think you've been _completely_ irresponsible," Hermione snapped, "I mean, one Butterbeer is one thing – and I'm not even going to _ask_ how you got it, you can only get them at Hogsmeade and I have no idea how you would have gotten there with those two – but to drink _ten_ in _less than thirty minutes_? This hangover serves you right, you should really think before you do that again. And when we go to Hogsmeade together next year, mark my words, I'm limiting you to one, _if that_, per trip!"

"Fine, whatever, you're the boss," I grumbled irritably. Her voice was loud, snappish, and as abrasive to my ears as Harry's humongous laugh.

Fred and George then came in and I felt myself flush furiously at the sight of the latter. I had absolutely no idea why and I felt angry with myself.

"How are we feeling today, Maggie?" George asked almost _kindly_ as he sat down next to Harry, who was still chortling.

"Well, if the angry looks of Hermione and the endless glee of Harry are _any_ sort of indication, I'd say she's more irritated than she had to be," Fred chuckled.

"The pink _can't_ be helping," George laughed. I groaned, put my arms on the table and buried my face in them just to block out the light and sound at once.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" I heard a _much_ too cheerful voice call out – that of Lockhart, the great annoying twit. "And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all – and it doesn't end here!"

I looked up and squinted in anger at the teacher's table, ready to raise a fist in fury. Harry gently held my arms to the table, almost knowing what I wanted to do.

Lockhart clapped his hands and a dozen angry looking dwarfs walked through the entrance hall, wearing horrific looking golden wings and carrying annoying harps.

"My friendly, card-carrying cupids!" Lockhart beamed, "They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"

Flitwick buried his face in his hands and Snape clearly would force-feed poison to _anyone_ who dared take up Lockhart on that request.

"Well, I'm going to just nip to the toilet to slit my wrists. It's better than living through this day," I groaned.

"Nah, you're going to have to suffer through it like the rest of us," George laughed. I glared at him and tried to control that annoying persistent flush in my cheeks from rising again.

All day long the dwarves barged into classes to deliver singing valentines. I witnessed, personally, two – one for me, and one for Harry.

The one for me was delivered in the hallway when Harry, Hermione and I were walking up to greet Fred and George before lunch. The dwarf walked up to me, looking surly and annoyed.

"I've got a musical message to deliver to Maggie Johnson, in person I does," the dwarf declared. The rest of the second years coming from transfiguration behind us stopped in their tracks and Fred and George immediately began sniggering.

"Oh good Merlin's buttocks," I groaned, "Please, don't."

"Nope, I've got to, you see. 'E paid for it an' everything," the dwarf insisted.

"Just… quickly," I rubbed my temples and thought _why, today, of all days, did it have to be Valentine's Day_.

"_Though she seems like a great ball of fury,  
To me, she is really quite pretty  
I cannot stop thinking about her  
For my crush there just isn't a cure!_" the dwarf sang. I buried my face in my hands as Fred and George began rolling with laughter on the ground. When he left, I started hitting the two of them violently with my bag.

"WHICH – ONE – OF – YOU – TWO – _IDIOTS_ – DID – THIS?" I screamed, smashing the heavy books into their sides.

"OW!" whined Fred.

"Look, _neither_ of us sent it!" George sighed.

"Do you _really_ think _either_ of us would send something so _stupid_ as that?" Fred groaned.

"To begin with, we're much more creative than that," George rolled his eyes.

"Secondly, we're not wasting our galleons on your humiliation," Fred sighed.

"Thirdly, we don't want to give _money_ to the great idiot _Lockhart_," George grumbled.

"And finally, why on _Earth_ would we send one of these things to you _romantically_? The thought is _absurd!_" Fred snapped.

I felt something sad grow in the back of my heart as George nodded in agreement but chose to ignore it, "Then who bloody _did_ send the forsaken thing?"

The second years began moving forward around us as Hermione and Harry both contained sniggers next to me. Neville walked by, holding his books rather close to his face, as though to hide from me.

"Oi! Neville!" I called. He turned to face me in a manner that seemed almost reluctant.

"Yeah?" he responded.

"Can you _believe_ that?" I rolled my eyes, walking up to him, "Can you believe some _idiot_ sent that to me?"

"No," he laughed, though rather weakly, "I really can't believe it. What an idiot."

I rolled my eyes and clapped him on the shoulder, "Seriously. What fool would have a crush on me, anyways? The only boys I actually get along with are you, Fred, George, and Harry, and well, you all have your heads on your shoulders and wouldn't like me in your right minds."

"Exactly," Neville smiled thinly.

"Ugh. I'm glad _you_ understand. I feel bad for the bloke, but he's a fool if he likes me like that. Good Merlin. I'm much too high maintenance. It's bad enough for _you_ and you're just my friend!" I shook my head, "Anyways, I just wanted to complain. Sorry about that – see? Case in point! Way too much work if I was someone's _girlfriend_. Urgh. The thought makes me blanch."

_Does it?_ I thought calmly. I looked at George out the corner of my eye, _Does it, really?_

"Yeah," Neville laughed, but it seemed forced, "I'll see you later, Maggie." He then hurried away quite quickly, his face buried in his books again.

"Well, he was acting odd," I frowned. Harry just shrugged but Hermione was shaking her head.

"What?" I asked her.

"Nothing," she sighed, "I'll tell you one day."

I frowned at her but Fred and George were rushing us back up to the Great Hall for lunch.

The other singing valentine I was present for was Harry's, as we were going upstairs for Charms in the late afternoon. The first years were coming back from Charms and I waved at Ginny. She waved back, beaming at me – she was looking a _lot_ healthier and it pleased me to no end.

A dwarf came up to Harry and shouted, "Oy, you! 'Arry Potter!" He was rough with the crowd as he tried to get to Harry and I groaned internally for him.

"I've got a musical message to deliver to 'Arry Potter in person," the dwarf declared, twanging his harp. I looked from Harry to the dwarf in panic and almost dove to try and get it to go away.

"_Not here_," Harry hissed, clearly trying to get away.

" Stay _still_!" the dwarf shouted, grabbing Harry's bag and pulling him back.

"Let – me – GO!" Harry shouted, tugging at his bag. With a large ripping noise, his bag split in two, and all his books, his wand, parchment and quill spilled onto the floor and his ink bottle smashed over everything.

Harry began to scramble and Hermione and I helped him quickly gather everything up off the ground. But then two voices that I really _didn't_ need to hear sounded.

"What's going on here?" Draco Malfoy asked, and Harry began stuffing things into his bag more furiously.

"What's all this commotion?" Percy Weasley asked.

_Merlin's Beard!_ I thought in horror as I helped Harry stuff all his things back into his bags and he tried to make a run for it. Unfortunately, the dwarf had seized him around the knees and brought him crashing to the floor.

"Right," the dwarf stated, sitting on Harry's ankles, "Here is your singing valentine:

_His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,  
His hair is as dark as a blackboard.  
I wish he was mine, he's really divine  
The hero who conquered the Dark Lord._"

Harry was beet red and I shooed the dwarf away. Everyone was rolling on the floor, laughing hysterically. I had a funny feeling I knew who sent the Valentine and I wanted to spare her any more embarrassment.

I looked around wildly and saw that Malfoy had picked up something from the ground – Riddle's diary.

_Why the _hell _does he still have the bloody thing?_ I thought in annoyance as I walked up to him.

"Give it back, Malfoy," I hissed.

"Wonder what Potter's written in this?" Malfoy asked calmly, who clearly hadn't pieced together it wasn't really Harry's. Everyone was suddenly quiet and Ginny suddenly looked terrified again.

"Hand it over, Malfoy," Harry said in a deadly quiet voice.

"When I've had a look," Malfoy laughed.

"As a school prefect –" Percy ordered, clearly trying to come to Harry's defense. But Harry had pulled out his wand and shouted, "_Expelliarmus!_" and the book came shooting back to Harry's hand.

"Harry!" Percy shouted, "No magic in the corridors! I'll have to report this, you know."

Malfoy looked furious, though, and that was good enough for Harry. He shouted, extremely vindictively, at Ginny, saying, "I don't think Potter liked your valentine much!"

Ginny covered her face and ran into class, and I could hear her sobs from far away. Ron nearby looked absolutely murderous. As we reached Charms class, Harry was looking at the diary in puzzlement.

"Just _chuck the damned thing_ already," I hissed under my breath as we sat down.

"But _look_," Harry insisted, "The pages – there isn't a drop of ink on them."

"No changes there!" I wanted to shout. It had been a very long day for me.

"But all the rest of my stuff is soaked, and the ink fell all over the diary, too – and it's all _gone_," Harry hissed.

I just shook my head, "Look, Harry, it's a mystery, I'm sure. And when you've figured out the answer, you can tell me. For now, we're in my _worst_ class, I need to concentrate, and I still have a headache."

Harry nodded and I turned to face Flitwick. That night, partially due to the continuous headache and partially due to Fred and George singing the lyrics to both my valentine and Harry's in a taunting manner, I went to bed very early indeed.

The next day, I was informed by Harry that you actually had to _write_ in the diary, and it would write back – Riddle _had_ caught the person who had opened the Chamber fifty years ago, and it had been _Hagrid_ – _Hagrid _had opened the Chamber.

To say I was skeptical about this was putting it mildly. Yes, Hagrid had a deep love for all magical creatures, and the ones he loved the most were very dangerous. But never, _ever_ would I believe he would _kill_ anyone, or even _petrify_ them – _especially_ because they were muggle-born.

Hermione was skeptical too, and that next morning she kept demanding him to repeat the story of his adventures in the diary memory.

"Riddle _might_ have got the wrong person… maybe it was some other monster that was attacking people…" Hermione insisted.

"How many monsters can one castle hold?" Harry responded dully.

"Well, we have Malfoy, and then we have Crabbe, and then Goyle, and…" but one look from Harry showed my joke wasn't appreciated much.

"We always knew Hagrid had been expelled… and the attacks must've stopped after Hagrid was kicked out. Otherwise, Riddle wouldn't have got his award," Harry sighed.

We were all silent as we walked through the castle, clearly all downtrodden by this news about our friend.

"Do you think we should just go _ask_ Hagrid about it all?" Hermione finally murmured.

"Yeah, that'll be _really_ pleasant," I groaned, "Hi Hagrid! Here's just an innocent little question, you know, no big deal – are you setting anything mad and, you know, hairy, loose in the castle of late? You know, other than yourself."

"Let's just not say anything to Hagrid unless there's another attack," Harry suggested. Hermione and I both nodded in agreement, and we hoped that it would never have to happen as it had been four months since the attack on Justin and Nick at this point.

The Easter holidays rolled around, and this was a big time for the second years. We had to choose our subjects for the third year – we each had to pick at least two new subjects, and we couldn't drop any of the old ones.

"One day, I will no longer have to take charms. That day, I will dance an Irish jig, and no one can stop me," I groaned as I looked at the list of subjects contemplatively.

"What are you thinking of?" Harry would ask me constantly. All the students were writing home to their parents for advice, or to older students if they were muggle-born.

"Well, Care of Magical Creatures is a definite yes," I paused, "I think if Herbology is required, that should be, too."

"You still need one more, though," Harry groaned.

"Well, I can't decide between Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, so I was actually going to do three subjects," I explained as we looked at the list together in the dormitory.

"I… don't really want to do either, to be honest," Harry grimaced.

"We don't have to do _everything_ together," I smiled at him, "We still have Magical Creatures together and everything. Do what you'd like. Maybe muggle studies?"

"I was thinking divination, to be honest," Harry shrugged, "Ron's doing that one and it sounds interesting."

"It sounds like a load of rubbish to me," I laughed, "But you go ahead. And we both know Hermione's going to be in all our classes."

"I know," Harry was shaking his head with laughter, "My God, she's signing up for everything!"

Neville was nearby during this conversation so I waved him over.

"What are you going to take, Neville?" I asked brightly. Neville smiled back at me, much more cheerful now at Easter than he had been on that bloody Valentine's Day.

"Care of Magical Creatures, and I can't decide the second one. I don't want to do Muggle Studies _or_ Divination, but… Arithmancy looks hard, and so does Ancient Runes," Neville sighed.

"Well, Arithmancy is basically magical maths, isn't it? And Ancient Runes is just a foreign language… so really, which are you better at, maths or reading?" I laughed.

Neville smiled a little but then frowned, "I'm best at Herbology… and that's all about figuring out how best to take care of different plants and understanding how the plants live, what they do, and applying that knowledge…"

"Do Arithmancy," I suggested, "It's more about figuring things out, too."

Neville nodded and I hoped that this _was_ the right choice for him.

Harry had a lot of Quidditch practice over the next few weeks, as Wood wanted them to win the Cup at last. As a result, Neville, Hermione and I did a lot of reading in the Common Room together, preparing for exams in Harry's continuous absence. During these times, Hermione and I filled him in on what we had found out about Hagrid and the Chamber fifty years ago – and he was as skeptical as we were about Hagrid's guilt.

"I'm going to go to the dormitory for something," Neville suddenly interjected, "I'll be right back."

"OK Neville," Hermione and I said in unison. Soon after Harry came by with his broom, heading up to the dormitory to put it away, in all likelihood.

After a while there could be a great commotion heard from upstairs. Hermione and I looked at each other in confusion and went to the bottom of the steps. Harry soon came running down them with Neville, looking frantic.

"Riddle's diary is gone," Harry hissed.

"_What_?" Hermione and I gasped.

"Someone tore apart the dormitory looking for it, found it, and took it," Harry whispered.

"But… only a Gryffindor could have stolen… nobody else knows our password…" Hermione looked horrorstruck.

"Exactly," Neville muttered.

The next day was the Hufflepuff-Gryffindor game. Neville and I headed out to the stands eagerly, but I couldn't find Hermione _anywhere_. Neither could Neville, and this worried the both of us.

"She was in the library, last I heard," Neville frowned as we took our seats.

"She's _always_ in the library… but she never misses one of Harry's matches," I looked out over the field, feeling troubled.

Suddenly, Professor McGonagall appeared on the field, carrying a large purple megaphone.

"This match has been cancelled," Professor McGonagall shouted over the pitch. There were many boos and hisses over the crowd and Wood seemed to be trying to reason with McGonagall. I looked at Neville and we both left the stands, going down towards the teams on the field.

"All students are to make their way back to the House common rooms, where their Heads of Houses will give them further information. As quickly as you can, please!" McGonagall ordered.

We managed to make it down before the crowds gathered and rushed over to where McGonagall was talking to Harry. We followed as she led him somewhere, and she didn't even object to us following, muttering, "Yes, you should come too, Johnson, Longbottom."

Increasingly, it appeared we were going to the Hospital Wing.

"This will be a bit of a shock," Professor McGonagall murmured in an out of character gentle voice, "There has been another attack… another _double_ attack."

Harry, Neville and I looked at each other in panic as we entered the Infirmary. There was a fifth year Ravenclaw being tended by Madam Pomfrey, and next to her, Hermione, as stiff as a board with her eyes open and glossy.

"_NO!_" Harry shouted.

"_Hermione!_" I sobbed.

Neville just clapped his hand over his mouth in horror.

"They were found near the library," Professor McGonagall explained, "I don't suppose either of you can explain this? It was on the floor next to them…"

She held up a small, circular mirror.

We all shook our heads.

"I shall escort you back to Gryffindor Tower…" Professor McGonagall began.

"Give me a moment," Harry murmured. McGonagall looked started as he walked over to the side of the bed and reached out to wipe the hair from Hermione's face, where it had strewn all over quite messily. He then took Hermione's cold, stiff hand in his for a moment. I turned to Neville and buried my head in his shoulder, unable to not cry any longer. Neville hesitantly wrapped his arms around me and rubbed my back, probably feeling rather surprised by my sudden need for comfort. Harry still sat there, holding Hermione's hand.

"Potter… Johnson… Longbottom… I'm truly sorry, and I can bring you back later, but… I need to go address the rest of the Gryffindors," Professor McGonagall finally murmured.

Neville nodded next to my head and I removed mine from his shoulder, wiping the tears from my face noisily. Harry stood up, bent over and kissed Hermione on the forehead before turning back to me and Neville with a determined look on his face. McGonagall didn't miss it, and I'm sure she knew it meant he would stop whoever had done this, but she chose not to say anything.

As we walked back to the Gryffindor tower, the three of us held each other's hands as tightly as we could.

AN: Well! I can't lie, I'm _very_ proud of this chapter.

First thing - I APOLOGIZE for the underage drinking in this chapter. It was a running gag in _Hand Magic_ that Maggie couldn't handle Butterbeer, as weak as it was, and this seemed like a very Fred and George thing to do - take their underage friend off to Hogsmeade illegally and get her a wee bit drunk. If it offended some of you, I'm so sorry - this wasn't actually a planned moment and it just sort of came to me, but I liked it so much I decided to keep it in. Not to mention, the only way Maggie would _ever_ admit to herself that she liked a boy is if she was inebriated, and that's how she finally starts to realize her feelings for George.

Second Thing - For my fellow Doctor Who fans, HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEW TRAILER?! DINOSAURS. AND DOCTOR WHO. I almost cried with happiness. I'm SO EXCITED for that episode you have NO idea.

Third Thing - if you guys don't know who sent Maggie her Valentine, I gave a _lot_ of hints about it in the chapter. I actually think I made it very obvious so, for those of you asking yourselves the important questions - yes, he's had feelings for Maggie for a _very long_ time, I won't give away how long; yes, Maggie's a prat; no, Maggie _doesn't have any idea_ how he feels; and yes, he won't get over her. No worries. And for those of you wondering whether or not George likes Maggie - well, that's a question that will be answered in time, it will.

Fourth Thing - I recently got addicted to Headcanons and I've decided that, once the story is finally over and I've posted the Epilogue chapter, I'll release a chapter with things written in the Headcanon format (even though, they aren't really headcanon, as I, the author of the story, am writing them) that I couldn't include in the story, stuff that happens from someone's POV other than Maggie, or things that happen to them after the end of the war.

Fifth Thing - I shouldn't have made the cover for this story so detailed. You can barely see it in the picture. Ah well. If you want to see it a little better, go to my account on deviantart - I'm dinolove453 there, too. Don't throw up when you go into my artwork for _Hand Magic_, I'm a terrible artist now and I was even worse a year ago. If you guys would like to see some drawings of scenes from this, however, I might consider getting a scrapbook to do so.

Now, SHOUT OUT TIME! Thank you to rangerhero, Edmond O'Donald, DreamCatcher1991, Cooky Crumbla, and TA-twinArmageddons for reviewing the last chapter! I'm glad you all enjoyed it and I look forward to your reviews for the next one.

Please review!


	15. Ch 14: May 8 – May 24, 1993, Hogwarts

Chapter Fourteen: May 8 – May 24, 1993, Hogwarts

Professor McGonagall stood in front of all the Gryffindors. I was still crying, and this was so out of character for me that literally every single Gryffindor would throw me looks of concern. I wasn't used to that and it made me cry even more. Harry wrapped his arm around my shoulder and held me close to him, and Neville sat on the other side of me, still holding my hand. Harry was crying as I was and Neville's eyes were glistening a little as well.

"All students will return to their House common rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities," Professor McGonagall ordered.

Harry had finally managed to stop crying and my tears were beginning to slow down.

Professor McGonagall continued, sounding very distressed, "I need hardly add that I have rarely been so distressed. It is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught. I would urge anyone who thinks they might know anything about them to come forward."

She left through the portrait hole and left us all in silence. The Weasley twins came and sat across from me on the floor, looking at the three of us in complete concern. Ron hovered behind them, also looking upset. Percy just stared off into the distance blankly, and Ginny looked _absolutely_ distraught.

"That's two Gryffindors down, not counting a Gryffindor ghost, one Ravenclaw, and one Hufflepuff," Lee Jordan stated in annoyance to everyone in the Common Room, "Haven't _any_ of the teachers noticed that the Slytherins are all safe? Isn't it _obvious_ all this stuff's coming from Slytherin? The _Heir_ of Slytherin, the _monster_ of Slytherin – why don't they just chuck all the Slytherins out?"

Everyone began applauding and I reluctantly joined in. Harry looked at me in confusion.

"I-I'm sorry," I sniffled, "B-But my m-mum is b-b-basically the _only_ Slytherin I-I trust, and sh-she's out of school now. We can ch-chuck them out." _Well, and Snape, but that's an argument Harry and I **don't** need to have. _

Harry sighed but he looked to be in agreement with me, as did Neville. George reached across and patted me on the knee gently.

"Do you need anything, Maggie?" he asked softly.

"We can go to the Three Broomsticks and get you drunk again, if it'll help," Fred offered.

"Heck, we can go to the Hog's Head and get you firewhiskey, man that stuff is _strong_," George smiled a little.

I shook my head, wiping the tears from my eyes. Percy still had yet to say anything.

"What's up with Percy?" I sniffled.

"He's in shock… that Ravenclaw girl – Penelope Clearwater – she's a prefect. I don't think he thought the monster would dare attack a _prefect_," George explained quietly.

"Are you sure you don't want to do anything?" Fred insisted.

I shook my head again, "We can't go out without being c-caught. And I feel it would be an insult to Hermione to do something so dangerous when she's been h-h-hurt."

"Alright," Fred and George said in unison. They sat with the three of us, all just contemplating quietly.

Harry turned to look at me and I knew he wanted to talk to me, so I excused myself to go to the girl's dormitory and Harry followed, somehow attracting no suspicion as he did so. We stopped at the base of the steps and looked at each other.

"What are we going to do?" I asked very softly, "Do you think they'll suspect Hagrid?"

"We've got to go and talk to him," Harry responded firmly, "I can't believe it's him this time, but if he set the monster loose last time he'll know how to get inside the Chamber of Secrets, and that's a start."

I nodded, thinking hard, "Should we bring Neville along? He _does_ know everything we know."

"I know, but he's not as close to Hagrid as we are. We should go alone, and fill him in later," Harry decided. I nodded in agreement.

"How are we going to get out, though? McGonagall said we have to stay in the tower, and like I said to Fred and George, I don't want to disrespect Hermione in this…" I murmured.

"I think," Harry was very quiet now and I had to strain to hear him, "It's time to get my dad's old cloak out again."

I felt my eyes widen but I grinned in response anyway. I then ran upstairs to change out of my Gryffindor spirit robes and changed into jeans and a long-sleeved shirt and trainers, for the most quiet I could be. Harry changed into a similar getup.

We sat in the Common Room together as everyone milled about and eventually went to sleep. We stayed together in the common room as Fred, George and Neville left, making the excuse that we didn't really want to sleep at the moment.

"Of course you don't," George murmured in the kindest voice I had ever heard him use.

"Probably don't want to get out of each other's sight, too," Fred offered. Harry and I nodded.

"I'm going to get some sleep, though," Neville sighed, "You two take care of yourselves."

We nodded in understanding as they all left and we were completely alone in the Common Room. We waited for a few moments, just in case, and then Harry pulled out the Invisibility Cloak and draped it over the two of us. He then did what we always did in the forest back home, in the scarier areas – he held my hand.

The castle was dark and deserted and gave me the creeps, causing me to hold Harry's hand even tighter. However, at the same time, it was also especially crowded. Teachers, prefects, and ghosts marched the corridors in pairs, staring around for any strange activity. As such, Harry and I were terrified of making any noise.

Afterwards, we couldn't decide which was worse: being in the empty corridor and fearing for our lives, or being in a crowded corridor and fearing for everything else.

We somehow managed to make it to the front doors and pushed them open quietly, sneaking out and hurrying together through the grounds. The sky was filled with stars and I thought, sadly, that if it had been any other night and we were doing any other thing, it would be beautiful out.

We finally managed to get to Hagrid's hut and we pulled off the cloak only when we were outside the front door. We knocked on the door loudly and just seconds afterwards Hagrid opened the door. We were face to face with his crossbow and with Fang barking loudly behind him.

"Oh," he looked shocked as he lowered the weapon and stared at us, "What're _you two_ doin' down here?"

"What's that for?" Harry pointed at the crossbow as we stepped inside the hut.

"Nothin'… nothin'," Hagrid muttered, "I've been expectin'… doesn' matter… sit down… I'll make tea…"

Hagrid seemed more distracted than I had ever seen him. He almost poured water on the fire and then smashed the teapot with his hand. He was twitching nervously and I felt horrifically concerned.

"Are you okay, Hagrid?" Harry asked softly, "Did you hear about Hermione?"

"Oh, I heard, all righ'," Hagrid responded, his voice breaking a little. I looked to see beady tears appearing in his beard.

He kept looking out the window in terror and poured us both large mugs of boiling water, which had no tea bags – he was so distressed he'd forgotten them. He put some fruitcake on a plate and there was a large knock on the door.

Hagrid dropped the fruitcake and Harry threw the Invisibility Cloak around us, pulling me violently back into a corner of the Hut. Hagrid then grabbed his crossbow and opened the door a second time as Harry and I tried our hardest to not even _breathe_ loudly.

"Good evening, Hagrid," I heard Professor Dumbledore greet from the front door. He entered into the room, looking deadly serious. He was followed by a second man, who had rumpled gray hair, an anxious expression, and was wearing a pinstriped suit, a scarlet tie, a long black cloak, and pointed purple boots. Under his arm he had a lime green bowler hat.

Hagrid looked pale and sweaty as he sat down in a chair and looked from Dumbledore to the strange looking man.

"Bad business, Hagrid," the strange man began, "Very bad business. Had to come. Four attack on Muggle-borns. Things've gone far enough. Minstry's got to act."

So it was a _ministry_ official… someone who worked with my mum. I looked at Harry in shock and we realized how serious this actually was.

"I never," Hagrid began, his expression terrified, "You know I never, Professor Dumbledore, sir –"

I wanted to jump up to Hagrid's defense but I knew that the amount of trouble I would get in with that was absolutely astounding.

"I want it understood, Cornelius, that Hagrid has my full confidence," Dumbledore said to the ministry man, frowning. I recognized the first name Cornelius vaguely, but I couldn't place who it was my mum had been talking about.

"Look, Albus," Cornelius replied, looking very uncomfortable, "Hagrid's record's against him. Minstry's got to do something – the school governors have been in touch –"

"Yet again, Cornelius, I tell you that taking Hagrid away will not help in the slightest," Dumbledore stated firmly. I had never seen him look so determined about _anything_ like this before.

"Look at it from my point of view," said Cornelius, fidgeting with his hat, "I'm under a lot of pressure. Got to be seen doing something. If it turns out it wasn't Hagrid, he'll be back and no more said. But I've got to take him. Got to. Wouldn't be doing my duty –"

So he was a very high-ranking ministry official, someone who had to keep up with PR. I frowned angrily at the man. How _dare_ he take away Hagrid for something he _wasn't doing_. That was low and scummy and I wanted to punch the man in the face.

My opinion of the Ministry was dropping very, very rapidly and Harry could clearly see it in my face.

"Take me?" Hagrid responded in shock, shaking madly, "Take me where?"

"For a short stretch only," Cornelius said, looking away from Hagrid's eyes, "Not a punishment, Hagrid, more a precaution. If someone else is caught, you'll be let out with a full apology –"

"Not the Wizard prison, Azkaban?" Hagrid croaked.

Harry looked at me with panicked eyes and I bit my lip in terror. We knew nothing about Azkaban but I had a funny feeling it was along the lines of a horrific place.

There was another knock on the door and Harry and I looked in horror as Lucius Malfoy, whom we had only met the one time, strode inside. He looked rather pleased with himself and I wanted to punch him in the face most of all.

"Already here, Minister Fudge," he declared, "Good, good."

_Fudge_, I thought in wild amazement, _the Minister of Magic, Fudge!_ This was very serious business indeed and Harry looked just as terrified as I did.

"What're you doin' here?" Hagrid roared, "Get outta my house!"

"My dear man, please believe me, I have no please at all in being inside your – er – d'you call this a house?" Malfoy Sr. sneered, "I simply called at the school and was told that the headmaster was here."

"And what exactly do you want with me, Lucius?" Dumbledore asked politely, but his eyes were still clearly furious.

"_Dreadful_ thing, Dumbledore," Malfoy sighed calmly, "but the governors feel it's time for you to step aside. This is an Order of Suspension – you'll find all twelve signatures on it. I'm afraid we feel you're losing your touch. How many attack have there been now? Two more this afternoon, wasn't it? At this rate, there'll be no Muggle-borns left at Hogwarts, and we all know what an _awful_ loss that would be to the school."

I really wanted to jump up and scream, "YOU FILTHY LITTLE LIAR! _You want all of them gone you prat_." But Harry managed to keep my down by gripping my wrist very tightly.

"Oh, now, see here, Lucius," Fudge gasped, looking alarmed, "Dumbledore suspended – no, no – last thing we want just now…"

"The appointment – or suspension – of the headmaster is a matter for the governors, Minister Fudge," Mr. Malfoy responded smoothly, "And as Dumbledore has failed to stop these attacks –"

"See here, Malfoy, if _Dumbledore_ can't stop them, I mean to say, who _can?_" Fudge begged.

I looked over at Harry out the corner of my eye. Whether or not this had to do with Voldy-pants, I knew who our last hope was. I slipped my hand into his and squeezed it so tightly he looked at me in complete shock. He didn't know what I knew, but at the same time, I felt he knew it somewhere in the back of his mind.

The moment Dumbledore left, it would be all down to him.

"That remains to be seen," Malfoy declared with a very nasty smile, "But as all twelve of us have voted –"

Hagrid leapt to his feet, displaying all the anger I had been holding back.

"An' how many did yeh have ter threaten an' blackmail before they agreed, Malfoy, eh?" Hagrid roared.

"Dear, dear, you know, that temper of yours will lead you into trouble one of these days, Hagrid," Malfoy sneered, "I would advise you not to shout at the Azkaban guards like that. They won't like it at all."

"Yeh can' take Dumbledore!" Hagrid yelled, "Take him away, an' the Muggle-borns won' stand a chance! There'll be killin' next!"

"Calm yourself, Hagrid," Dumbledore ordered sharply. He looked back at Malfoy.

"If the governors want my removal, Lucius, I shall of course step aside –"

Harry and I opened our mouths in terror as Fudge stuttered, "But –" and Hagrid growled, "_No!_" I wanted to run out, throw my arms around Dumbledore (a thought that had never even occurred to me before) and beg him to stay.

"However," Dumbledore continued, speaking very slowly and clearly and his angry eyes still on Lucius, "you will find that I will only _truly_ have left this school when none here are loyal to me. You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."

I couldn't have been imagining that Dumbledore's eyes flickered to me and Harry for an imperceptible moment.

"Admirable sentiments," Malfoy simpered, "We shall all miss your – er – highly individual way of running things, Albus, and only hope that your successor will manage to prevent any – ah – _killins_."

He opened the cabin door and helped Dumbledore out. Hagrid paused, though Fudge was clearly waiting for him, and stated very carefully, "If anyone wanted ter find out some _stuff_, all they'd have ter do would be ter follow the _spiders_. That'd lead 'em right! That's all I'm sayin'."

To say Fudge looked confused would be an understatement.

"All right, I'm comin'," Hagrid groaned, pulling on his overcoat. Halfway out the door he shouted, "An' someone'll need to feed Fang while I'm away."

The door banged shut and we waited a moment before pulling off the cloak.

"Well we're all screwed now," I groaned, "No Dumbledore. They should just close the school. Every day there will be another attack!"

Harry looked at me with a terrified expression as we made our way to creep back to the castle.

Without Hagrid and Hermione, the entire castle just seemed _wrong_. The grounds weren't the same without him cheerfully lumbering by with Fang. The library wasn't the same without Hermione correcting me on my spelling for History of Magic, or helping me with my charms, or clapping as we figured out a complicated transfiguration.

Though McGonagall took us back to the Hospital Wing once after the attacks, Madam Pomfrey soon afterwards closed it to visitors. When we went up there, she only slightly talked to us through a crack in the door.

"We're taking no more chances," Madam Pomfrey insisted, "No, I'm sorry, there's every chance the attacker might come back to finish these people off…"

Without Dumbledore, everyone was even more terrified than before, something I just didn't think was possible. Everyone looked glum and gloomy, and all laughter – even the laughter of Fred and George – was forced. People stuck together in packs for safety, and I never found myself without my hand being held by someone I cared about – usually Harry, but sometimes Neville, and once or twice even Fred and George made a chain with me for safety. I always offered to hold Ginny's hand when we were walking together, but she never took me up on it; I couldn't understand why, but she seemed to act _ashamed_ of herself, questioning why _anyone_ would want to hold her hand.

Don't ask me how I felt about George holding my hand; it makes me feel uncomfortable, to think about it is just annoying.

Harry was constantly muttering Dumbledore's farewell under his breath and neither of us could make sense of the words. Hagrid's command was much easier to understand, but neither of us could follow _any_ spiders in the castle to follow, and even if we could, it wasn't like anyone would leave us out of their sight for even two seconds. Though I appreciated having company when walking and a lot of times having my friends by my side made me feel better, since I knew they were safe, I was still annoyed that we couldn't get any closer to solving the mystery.

Malfoy seemed to be even more pleased with himself than usual, strutting about the castle as though he were Head Boy and the Headmaster at the same time. It drove me mental and I didn't even know _why_ he was acting like the Head Prat of Pratsville until potions class that day.

"I always thought Father might be the one who got rid of Dumbledore," Malfoy declared to Crabbe and Goyle, "I told you he thinks Dumbledore's the worst headmaster the school's ever had. Maybe we'll get a decent headmaster now. Someone who won't _want_ the Chamber of Secrets closed. McGonagall won't last long, she's only filling in…"

Snape came by and our eyes met briefly, the only look of understanding and something verging on, perhaps, comfort we could allow ourselves in the present company.

"Sir," Malfoy called loudly, "Why don't _you_ apply for the headmaster's job?"

"Now, now, Malfoy," Snape shook his head, though he was clearly smiling at the suggestion, "Professor Dumbledore has only been suspended by the governors. I daresay he'll be back with us soon enough."

"Yeah, right," Malfoy sneered, smirking at Snape, "I expect you'd have Father's vote, sir, if you wanted to apply for the job – _I'll_ tell Father you're the best teacher here, sir –"

Snape smirked and walked to the other side of the dungeon as I grimaced in annoyance at Malfoy's actions.

"I'm quite surprised the Mudbloods haven't all packed their bags by now," Malfoy continued, "Bet you five Galleons the next one dies. Pity it wasn't Granger –"

Harry tried to get to Malfoy, presumably to strangle him, but Neville and I managed to hold him back from committing a fairly violent crime.

"Hurry up, I've got to take you all to Herbology," Snape ordered over our heads. Neville, Harry and I brought up the rear, Harry still trying to break free. We could only let go of him when Snape had lead us out of the castle and we were making our way towards the greenhouses.

Herbology was, needless to say, subdued. Neville and I stood together, Harry now partner less but doing just fine in such a state, as we worked on the Abyssinian Shrivelfigs. Neville and I were throwing ourselves into our work to distract ourselves but I heard, much to my own shock, the pompous voice of Ernie Macmillan declaring, "I just want to say, harry, that I'm sorry I ever suspected you. I know you'd never attack Hermione Granger, and I apologize for all the stuff I said. We're all in the same boat now, and, well –"

I looked up in shock to see Harry and Ernie shaking hands. Ernie and Hannah came over to work with me, Harry, and Neville. I looked at Neville out the corner of my eye and he just shrugged wordlessly.

"That Draco Malfoy character," Ernie suddenly interjected, "he seems very pleased about all this, doesn't he? D'you know, I think _he_ might be Slytherin's heir."

"Yeah… I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one," I stated calmly.

"Do you think it's Malfoy, Harry?" Ernie asked.

"No," Harry replied firmly. I grinned a little and Neville seemed to be smiling next to me, too.

I was continuing to rip out the stalks when I felt someone tap me rapidly on the back. I turned to see Harry pointing at several large spiders, which were scuttling over the ground in a very set direction and path.

"But we can't follow them _now_…" I hissed. Neville turned around and looked in amazement at the sight. Ernie and Hannah were listening in curiosity, clearly not in the loop.

"Looks like they're heading for the Forbidden Forest…" Harry muttered. I frowned in annoyance and Neville looked positively petrified (sorry, I know that was a low blow) at the thought.

Professor Sprout escorted us to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry, Neville and I lagged behind.

"Guys, I'm going to sit this one out. I _hate_ the forest," Neville hissed under his breath.

"Fair enough, if we're going to the forest I'm bringing my bow, and we've got to be careful about us _not_ being visible under that thing," I replied.

"Yeah, we're going to have to use the Invisibility Cloak again," Harry sighed, "We can take Fang with us. He's used to going into the forest with Hagrid, he might be some help."

"I have a funny feeling I'm going to meet some more giant spiders, and I'm not looking forward to this, Harry," I hissed angrily as we sat down in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Lockhart seemed absolutely ecstatic. I wanted to scream and shout at him and wring his neck.

"Come now," he laughed, "Why all these long faces?"

I looked over at Harry with my 'I'm-going-to-murder-him-now' face and Harry held my wrist down on the table.

"Don't' you people realize," Lockhart spoke slowly, as though talking to the mentally handicapped, "The danger has passed! The culprit has been taken away-"

"Says who?" Dean Thomas shouted.

"My dear young man, the Minister of Magic wouldn't have taken Hagrid if he hadn't been one hundred percent sure he was guilty," Lockhart laughed.

"There is a little thing called _trying to cover up their lack of action_," I snapped, "Governments always try to cover up the fact that they aren't doing anything with political stunts like this-"

"Miss Johnson," Lockhart responded firmly, "There is no use in me telling you that you are on very thin ice with me. Your attitude in this class has been a bane from the beginning, but I can see there is no hope for your case."

"Because I'm the _only person_ who doesn't take your idiocy?!" I shouted.

"Miss Johnson, I will give you another warning before I give you yet _another_ detention. I flatter myself I know a _touch_ more about Hagrid's arrest than you do," Lockhart looked so pleased with himself that it was only Harry holding me back that kept me from _murdering him._

As Lockhart continued to say things that made me more murderous than Lord Voldemort, Harry scrawled out a note to me saying _Let's do it tonight._ I nodded firmly, glaring at Lockhart with all the fury and hatred I could muster.

In the Common Room that evening, as always, every single Gryffindor was seated and chatting for a long time. Harry was sitting on his Invisibility Cloak until the Common Room finally emptied, and I was talking to Neville. Fred and George were fairly concerned with trying to cheer up Ginny again, who not only looked depressed but positively _plagued_.

"This year has been absolutely, completely mental," Neville murmured softly as we sat in the only empty corner of the Common Room.

"More mental than last year by about a thousand," I agreed, looking off out the window hopelessly.

He looked up at me with a rather determined expression on his round face, "We're going to fix this problem, right?"

"Course," I nodded, hiding my bow and arrows in a much better fashion behind my back, "We have to. Who else will?"

"I'm beginning to see what you mean there," Neville sighed, "None of the professors are doing _anything_. None of the older students, either."

"I'm not saying it's supposed to be our job," I continued, "We really _shouldn't_ be solving all the problems. But we can, and we will, because we must."

Neville was looking down at his shoes, "I hate to say this, because it makes me sound so petty and shallow, but I'm glad you're not a muggle-born."

I looked at him in shock.

"I mean, what I mean is," Neville let out a long sigh, "I've been so terrified for Hermione this whole time. Well, that's done now, but at least she isn't dead. I don't think I could bear it if I was equally terrified for you."

"Thank you, Neville," I breathed quietly. He nodded and continued to stare off into space.

More time passed as we just sat there in comfortable silence. As the Common Room finally began to be emptied, we both watched Harry as he sat there talking to Ron.

"You really would do anything for him, wouldn't you?" Neville asked calmly.

"Of course," I responded firmly, "Wouldn't you do so?"

"If I had a sibling, I suppose… I'm an only child so I don't really know what I'd do," Neville frowned.

"I'm sure you would," I smiled, "You're a good, caring kid, kid."

Neville laughed and looked down at the red carpeted floor, "Is he the person you care about the most?"

I frowned, "There's my parents…"

"Come on, I'm being serious, you should too," Neville laughed, "Do you care for Harry more, or your parents more?"

"It's a different kind of thing," I sighed, "My parents can take care of themselves, it's their job to take care of me. Well, with Harry… I want to protect him. Not to mention all the usual things – the age gap between me and my parents versus the fact that Harry and I are the same age, so we're just closer by default; the fact that Harry and I go on adventures together and my parents just sort of stay a respectful distance and…"

"I'm not saying you don't care about your parents," Neville grinned a little, "But it's clear that you love Harry the most."

"Yeah, maybe I do," I sighed, "I can't even bear the thought of him dying, or getting hurt."

"Do you ever think that would change?" Neville asked thoughtfully, "Could you ever care for someone more than Harry, I mean?"

I frowned and concentrated as I looked over at my cousin again, "If I found someone whom I would want to spend the rest of my life with… like, you know, a bloke… then yeah, I suppose I'd care about him more. And if by some sort of miracle I'm fit to have babies, then I suppose my children, too."

"I expect you won't be throwing that sort of commitment around, though," Neville chuckled under his breath.

"No…" I frowned. I had never been forced to think about this before, "Trust me… if I ever put a bloke above Harry on the priority list, he better be aware that's practically the same as a marriage proposal."

Neville laughed again and I elbowed him in the ribs.

"What about you? Anyone special in your life?" I teased. Neville gave me the great look of disdain.

"Don't be stupid, Maggie. Girls don't like me," Neville sighed.

"Well I think that's stupid," I responded, "Anyone would be lucky to have you."

Neville looked up at me in shock, "Really?"

"Really. You're really nice and you obviously really care about the people around you," I stated calmly, "Whomever you end up with is always going to be happy."

Neville was flushed but smiled and said, "Yeah… whoever it is."

"Seriously, you care _too_ much," I chuckled, "You'll say I love you to everyone, won't you?"

"No," Neville responded firmly, "Just one."

I looked at him in shock, "You sound like you've already picked her out…"

He looked at me and opened his mouth to respond when Harry came running up to us.

"Alright, it's time. Neville, can you keep a lookout for us when we come back in?" Harry stated in a rushed voice as he pulled out the cloak.

"No problem," Neville nodded grimly. Harry draped the cloak over us as we went out through the castle again, dodging all the teachers as we crept through the hallways. We reached the front doors and managed to squeeze through them without making very much noise at all. I considered it something of a miracle, indeed. We reached Hagrid's house, so empty and sad looking without its usual occupant.

When Harry pushed the door open, Fang completely freaked out in happiness and bounded up to Harry. His barking was loud enough to wake the whole castle and I hastily force fed him treacle fudge, gluing his teeth together. Harry put the Invisibility Cloak on the table, though I felt nervous about that.

"What if we need to hide from something?" I hissed.

"They'll probably smell us out anyway," Harry sighed.

"Fang, here here, we're going for a walk," I whistled quietly. Fang bounded out of the house and both Harry and I raised our wands, muttering "_Lumos!_" I looked around wildly for spiders and finally found a trail of the nasty things on the ground. I nodded to Harry and we began to follow them through the forest. I pulled out my wand in one hand and held my bow in my other, wishing desperately that I had practiced more.

The darkness was terrifying and I wish I had a free hand to hold Harry's. It was different when I had been with the twins; whether or not this was true, I at least _thought_ they knew more about the forest than I did. Also, there were two of them, and they were one and a half years older than me, and two years ahead of me in schooling. I guess I trusted them to have secret answers to danger that I couldn't trust Harry to have because, well, we've learned all the same stuff.

We were silent as we followed the spiders, listening only for the sounds of other creatures. Eventually the woods got to be so thick we couldn't see the starry sky above. Our wands were the only source of light and my heart was pounding loudly in my ears.

_We've got to solve this, we've got to solve this, we've got to solve this_, I repeated in my head like a mantra.

A loud crunch could be heard off in the distance and Harry and I both whirled around wildly. Neither of us saw anything in the lack of light, but I felt a chill run through me as another crunch sounded, a little closer to us.

"What… d'you reckon that is?" I whispered softly.

"I'm not going to worry about it unless it bothers us," Harry replied equally softly.

The spiders seemed to be heading even deeper into the forest and both Harry and I felt moderately apprehensive about it. The spiders were leaving the forest trail and that also added to our growing pile of worries.

"What do you think we should do now?" I asked quietly.

"We've come this far," Harry responded determinedly. So we left the trail and continued to follow the spiders at a very slow pace through the crowded undergrowth. Fang was walking very close to us so as not to get lost. We often stopped to find the spiders again in the wandlight.

We were walking for ages; probably at least a half hour. I was wearing a very large and baggy sweatshirt and baggy jeans and boots, which allowed for warmth, but Harry was in a flannel shirt and seemed fairly cold. There was nothing to be done about this, though, since neither of us could cast Hermione's nice portable blue flames.

The ground seemed to be sloping downward and Fang let out a bark large enough to set my teeth on complete edge.

"What was that?" I whispered, looking around the forest wildly.

"There's something moving over there…" Harry breathed, "Listen… sounds like something big…"

The something big was snapping branches as it carved a path through the trees, coming towards us. I grimaced and managed to grip both my wand and Harry's wrist at the same time. He looked at me in equal terror as we stood there together, silently, both too terrified to move.

Everything was pitch black and I was trying to not breathe too loudly. It had suddenly gone eerily silent and I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood.

"Harry…" I whispered.

"What d'you think it's doing?" Harry whispered.

"No idea. Let's _move_," I hissed.

"No, just… wait a minute," Harry begged.

Another crack could be heard and I shivered with terror, Harry doing a similar action next to me. Fang was whimpering now, seemingly not wanting to bark at all.

I looked up into the tree tops, trying to see whatever it was that we weren't seeing. I couldn't make out anything in the darkness and I was much too afraid to raise my wand.

I whirled around to look behind us now, swallowing compulsively every five seconds. I looked up into the treetops and saw, very distantly, two glowing yellow orbs. They seemed to be rather far away, but if they were up close to us they must have been the size of a Quaffle each. I looked over at the eyes, which had dark blue grey irises, and swallowed.

"H-Harry?" I whispered.

Harry made a move to turn around but the eyes suddenly narrowed when he did.

"N-Never mind," I mumbled, "Don't… turn. Let's just… go."

"What? What is it?" Harry demanded, though when he had turned back to face the opposite direction of the eyes they had stopped glaring. I had no idea how far away the creature was, but I expected it had been growling before as well.

"Let's just follow the spiders and… and don't turn around," I whispered. Harry nodded and I turned around to face the spider path again and we continued to walk along it. I turned around to look at the eyes, since I heard the loud crack of the creature following us again. Indeed, the eyes had moved closer, but I still couldn't hear whatever voice the animal harbored. I looked directly into the eyes and I felt like the thing was looking directly back.

"Harry… what would be as tall as the treetops and… Harry?" I asked, but I didn't hear anything except the frantic whimpering of Fang. Suddenly, there was a loud clicking noise and I felt something long and hairy pull me up off the ground. I immediately let out a bloodcurdling scream in response, trying to grab my bow (which I had put back on my back) and finding myself unable to do so.

I struggled and struggled against the hold of whatever the thing was, which definitely wasn't the source of the eyes that continued to follow us. I looked down to see that the thing carrying us had six immensely long, hair legs in addition to the two carrying me, and next to everything were two shiny black pincers.

_Oh god, oh god, oh god_, I thought in a panic, _giant spiders, giant spiders, not again, not again, not again!_

We were heading deeper into the forest, the eyes still following us at a greater distance now. I couldn't scream anymore now that I realized what was carrying me, I seemed to have lost my voice somewhere.

_No, no, no, no_, I thought. Neville! Neville was waiting for us back at the castle! What would he say if he knew that we had died out here? What would he do without all three of his friends? Fred, and George – how would they react? _No, no, no, no!_

The darkness lifted enough for me to see that the entire ground was literally covered with spiders. I shivered violently, deciding that from now on I never wanted to see another spider ever, ever, _ever_ again. You know, if I survived that long.

We suddenly descended into a large hole, which had a giant hole cleared in the top so the moon and stars would look down on the hollow. And I could see everything that was there – spiders. Not little ones, not even tarantula sized ones. Huge ones, like the ones that were carrying me and Harry and Fang. And they were _everywhere_. The spider carrying me made its way down to the center of the misty, domed web and dropped me. Harry and Fang thudded next to me. Fang was cowering in a corner and I immediately began pulling at my hair, my eyes and mouth opened wide in terror. Harry wore a similar expression.

"Aragog!" the spider behind me said, though it was hard to tell with the clicking of the thing's pincers, "Aragog!"

And from the middle of the dome came a spider the size of an elephant. There was grey in the black of his body and legs, and each of the eyes on its head was milky white – I figured he must be blind.

"What is it?" Aragog responded, clicking its pincers angrily.

"Humans," the spider responded.

"Is it Hagrid?" Aragog asked calmly.

"Strangers," clicked a different spider.

"Kill them…" Aragog growled, "I was sleeping."

"WE'RE FRIENDS OF HAGRID'S!" Harry shouted desperately. Every spider began clicking madly.

"Hagrid has never sent people into our hollow before," Aragog commented slowly.

"Hagrid's in trouble," Harry continued, clearly panicking, "That's why we've come."

"In trouble?" Aragog murmured, and he even sounded, dare I say it, concerned, "But why has he sent you?"

Harry seemed to be panicking as he continued, "They think, up at the school, that Hagrid's been setting a – a – something on the students. They've taken him to Azkaban."

Aragog began clicking his pincers angrily and every spider around him began clicking in response. I shivered violently and tried to not start screaming.

"But that was years ago," Aragog responded fretfully, "Years and years ago. I remember it well. That's why they made him leave the school. They believed that _I_ was the monster that dwells in what they call the Chamber of Secrets. They thought that Hagrid had opened the Chamber and set me free."

"And you… you didn't come from the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry gasped.

"I!" Aragog was even angrier though, "I was not born in the castle. I come from a distant land. A traveler gave me to Hagrid when I was an egg. Hagrid was only a boy, but he cared for me, hidden in a cupboard in the castle, feeding me on scraps form the table. Hagrid is my good friend, and a good man. When I was discovered, and blamed for the death of a girl, he protected me. I have lived here in the forest ever since, where Hagrid still visits me. He even found me a wife, Mosag, and you see how our family has grown, all through Hagrid's goodness…"

"So you never… attacked anyone?" Harry gasped.

"Never," the spider croaked, "It would have been my instinct, but out of respect for Hagrid, I never harmed a human. The body of the girl who was killed was discovered in a bathroom. I never saw any part of the castle but the cupboard in which I grew up. Our kind like the dark and the quiet…"

"But then… Do you know what _did_ kill the girl?" Harry asked, "Because whatever it is, it's back and attacking people again –"

The clicking all began sounding even more fervidly around us and I gripped my bow behind me hard, fearing that nothing else would be able to really fight against these things.

"The thing that lives in the castle," Aragog began, "Is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others. Well do I remember how I pleaded with Hagrid to let me go, when I sensed the beast moving about the school."

"What is it?" Harry begged. I had managed to get my bow and an arrow in the right position for me to quickly unleash them.

"We do not speak of it!" Aragog responded fiercely, "We do not name it! I never even told Hagrid the name of that dread creature, though he asked me, many times."

The spiders seemed to be crowding around. Aragog seemed to be tired of discussion and I braced myself for a feeble attempt at self-defense.

"We'll just… go… then," Harry squeaked.

"Go?" Aragog responded slowly, "I think not…"

"But – but –"

"My sons and daughters do not harm Hagrid, on my command. But I cannot deny them fresh meat, when it wanders so willingly into our midst. Good-bye, friend of Hagrid."

I pulled out my bow and arrow and quickly shot one at a spider. I hit him square in the head, by some miracle, and it fell dead, but all the rest of them were crowding around and there were too many for my arrows. I notched another one and felt myself began to shake madly as they kept crowding in on us when suddenly a loud roar issued – the loudest roar I had ever heard.

Harry and I turned around rapidly and all the spiders stopped their descent as a giant, navy blue beast ran out into the middle of the dome. It was the source of the eyes I had seen before, and something I had only ever seen in pictures – a Hebridean Black.

It had giant wings and huge teeth and was just _big_. It had four legs besides its wings and crept forward on them, roaring at all the spiders furiously. Its teeth were bared like a dog would have them and its roaring would wake the entire castle, most likely.

The spiders turned their attention to the dragon, trying to attack it. But it became clear that the dragon's hide was much too thick and scaly for their pincers to penetrate. The dragon blew a burst of flames all around the clearing, killing many spiders but not, surprisingly, Aragog.

"What do we do?" Harry shouted, "That was our escape route!"

I turned around wildly. Indeed, the dragon had managed to completely block all exits towards the castle.

"We grab onto it!" I shouted in response.

"YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY MENTAL!" Harry screamed.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY BETTER IDEAS?!" I roared. Harry shook his head and pulled Fang, who seemed to have gone into shock, onto his back. We ran to the dragon's tail, which it wasn't paying much attention to, and leapt to grab onto it.

The dragon grumbled and roared again as we climbed onto the back of the tail.

_Please don't turn around please don't turn your head please don't look at us just get out of here please, please, please_, I begged in my head frantically.

The dragon shivered violently and raised its wings. Harry looked at me with panicked eyes and we both scrambled onto its hindquarters, holding on to its back spikes for dear life.

The dragon flapped its wings one, two, three times and sprang its legs, taking off into the air. Fang began howling as we raised above the treetops and the dragon began flying, by some miracle, back towards the castle, away from the spiders and the danger. I didn't even know if the thing could feel us or knew we were there, but he didn't turn his head back to try and get us off.

The dragon flew very slowly, probably because it was just so _big_. Harry and I looked at each other with equal expressions of terror as the dragon flew over the forest and reached the Black Lake, heading towards the castle itself.

There was no telling what the dragon could do so I turned to Harry and shouted, "Let's jump – we're over water, it's the only place we can."

"Alright," Harry nodded, "On three!"

"One!" I shouted.

"Two!" Harry continued.

"THREE!" We said in unison. We fell down towards the dark watery blob, Harry grabbing Fang forcefully from the dragon's back. We smashed into the surface of the water, which was freezing, and I immediately thanked Hagrid to high heaven for waterproofing my bow and arrows. I managed to regain enough faculties to swim to shore and collapsed there, panting wildly as Harry came up alongside me.

"I AM GOING TO KILL HIM," I roared.

"Be _quiet_," Harry hissed, "The castle –"

"They all heard the bloody dragon anyway!" I snapped, but I knew he was right. So I sat up, shivering violently, and followed Harry back to Hagrid's Hut to grab the Cloak.

"Follow the spiders. Follow the spiders!" I hissed, "Hagrid is _mental_. Completely mental! I'm going to kill him."

"Why couldn't it be follow the butterflies?" Harry suggested meekly.

"Because Hagrid doesn't have enough sense to actually like a creature that _won't want to kill him!_" I moaned as we grabbed the cloak from the table.

"I bet he thought Aragog wouldn't hurt friends of his," Harry sighed.

"That's his problem! He thinks monsters aren't as bad as people think and he's in Azkaban for it! He's completely insane! Completely mental!" I hissed.

"Well, we know now that Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets. He was innocent," Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly as he threw the cloak over us and left Fang in the Hut. We managed to sneak in through the Entrance Hall and up to the Gryffindor Common Room, where Neville was waiting anxiously inside.

"I heard – something roaring – and there was this great black blob that flew by the window and – you're _soaking wet_ –" Neville hissed.

I threw my arms around him and began sobbing as Harry calmly told the tale of what happened. I was very shaken up, thank you.

"Well then… another dead end," Neville sighed, "We're _never_ going to figure this out!"

"I just want to _go to bed_," I moaned, "I never want to see a spider again! I'm traumatized! I'm going to have a bloody phobia for the rest of my life!"

"It's not without reason," Harry shook his head sadly.

Harry was pacing in front of the fire as I tried to dry off before going to bed. Neville was watching us, clearly thinking very hard.

"Wait a second," Harry gasped, whirling around on his heels to face us. We both looked up at him, me still shivering violently.

"That girl who died. Aragog said she was found in a bathroom…" Harry whispered, "What if… she never left eh bathroom? What if she's still there?"

"No…" I felt my eyes widen, "Not… Not _Moaning Myrtle?!_"

Neville, Harry and I all looked at each other in amazement and realized what we would be doing next, indeed.

AN: Hey guys, guess what, guess what? Tomorrow is MY BIRTHDAY! Hurray! I'm turning twenty! Yes, I feel very old indeed! But it's MY BIRTHDAY! So I would LOVE some great birthday reviews! It would be most wonderful indeed!

Sorry this chapter took so long - it's a very long one, to begin with; I had some writer's block; I had to go do some chores again; and I actually went out last night and had a social life. I know, weird. How dare I go out. I'll try to update tomorrow (BIRTHDAAAAAAAAY! I'm like Lily Aldrin from How I Met Your Mother; I get inordinately excited about my birthday) but since I'm having a social life pretty much until Monday with the different people who want to celebrate with me... just don't be too surprised if I can't.

Tomorrow's chapter, or the next one depending on the situation, is in fact the last chapter of the Chamber of Secrets, so get excited! T'will be much fun.

If you guys could do me a favor - birthday favor, regular favor, whatever - could you go check out my one reviewer's story? Her name is DreamCatcher1991 and her story is Remember to Live. She isn't getting any reviews at all and I want her to get some recognition. Please, if you have time, read it and help her out.

Shout Out Time! Thank you to womynrule, Nerd Lord2nd, and madmick74 for favoriting/following this story. I'm glad you like it and feel free to drop a review to let me know how this chapter was! Secondly, thank you so much to my lovely reviewers: rangerhero, JKArcanus, Guest, HHR Guest (who reviewed twice,) Cooky Crumbla, Viola Potterhead Girl and DreamCatcher1991 for reviewing! I really appreciate them and they always make my day when I check my email on my phone (which, to be honest, is very often after I've posted a chapter.) So, if you could please, drop me a good review for my birthday, that would be wonderful!

I love you all, and please review! Ah, it's cake time for Meg... so much excitement.


	16. Ch 15: May 24 – End of Term, 1993

Chapter Fifteen: May 24 – End of Term, 1993, Hogwarts

To say we were kicking ourselves for not asking Moaning Myrtle all those times we had been in her bathroom would be absolutely correct. And now that we wanted to talk to her, we most certainly couldn't. Harry and Neville couldn't even go _into_ the girl's bathroom and well, to say that none of the Professors were taking any of the students anywhere _near_ the sight of the first attack would be an understatement.

But the day after the evening of Spider Doom, Professor McGonagall decided to drop a bomb on us that made me feel like things really couldn't get any worse.

"Your exams will begin on the first of June, class, one week from today," Professor McGonagall announced calmly.

"_Exams?_" Ron shouted, "We're still having _exams?_"

"The whole point of keeping the school open at this time is for you to receive your education," McGonagall responded sternly, "The exams will therefore take place as usual, and I trust you are all studying hard."

Well, crap. I hadn't been studying _at all_. Neither, I could tell by the looks on their faces, had Harry or Neville.

_Well, not only is the school going to close, but I'm going to flunk out of second year! Fantastic. This couldn't be any more horrifically awful. _

"Professor Dumbledore's instructions were to keep the school running as normally as possible," McGonagall snapped, "And that, I need hardly point out, means finding out how much you have learned this year."

_You mean – nothing?_ I thought sarcastically, but I had too much respect for McGonagall to say it aloud.

"Have we learned, you know, _anything_ of an academic nature this year?" I hissed in Harry's ear.

"Um… we learned about giant spiders…" Harry offered.

"Too soon, mate," I shivered, "Too soon."

So began four days of endless cramming. Since I had managed to keep up with the spellwork in transfiguration, as always, I concentrated my efforts on charms, potions, and history of magic. Herbology and Transfiguration I wasn't too worried about, Astronomy was always a piece of cake and Defense Against the Dark Arts, being as bull-shitty as it was, I had accepted as a lost cause.

"I HATE YOU, CHARMS!" I shouted at the top of my lungs in the common room much to the amusement of my friends.

"Oh shut up Harry," I groaned as he continued to chuckle in a fairly annoying manner.

Harry himself was also swimming in his books, him concentrating on Transfiguration, Potions, and History of Magic. Neville next to us was also concentrating on Potions, Transfiguration, and Astronomy. In short, all of us feared the wrath of Professor Snape – even me.

Three days before exams were to begin, Professor McGonagall came out in front of the school during breakfast as Harry and I quizzed each other on potions ingredients.

"I have good news!" she shouted and the entire Hall fell silent.

"Dumbledore's coming back!" Fred, George, Harry, Neville and I – along with many other people – shouted.

"You've caught the Heir of Slytherin!" a Ravenclaw with long, curly blonde hair shouted with a fairly high-pitched ephemeral voice.

"Quidditch matches are back on!" Wood roared hopefully.

When everyone had finally calmed down from their excitement, McGonagall continued, "Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to revive those people who have been Petrified. I need hardly remind you all that one of them may well be able to tell us who, or what, attacked them. I am hopeful that this dreadful year will end with our catching the culprit."

Everyone burst into cheers and I turned to Harry with the widest of grins on my face. I could see that many Slytherins weren't joining in on the cheering, including Draco Malfoy.

"Hermione's coming back!" I squealed and Harry beamed in equal joy.

"It won't matter that we never asked Myrtle!" Neville laughed, "Hermione will know _everything_, she will. She'll have all the answers."

"She'll go mental when she finds out we have exams," Harry shook his head sadly, "She hasn't studied or anything…"

"If anyone will be fine, it's Hermione Jean Granger," I grinned, "She'll probably be helping _us_. Oh I'm just so excited!" I felt rather out of character in my happiness.

Ginny Weasley was sitting across from me and she still looked sick and depressed. I stopped my excitement and looked at her worriedly as she looked at anywhere but me or any of her brothers.

"Ginny? Ginny, what's wrong?" I asked calmly, "Please tell us. You've been all out of sorts ever since the attack on Hermione and we're all worried about you."

Ginny just shook her head, her lips pursed together. I thought I saw the glistening of tears in her eyes. I was so concerned that I reached across the table and held her hands.

"Please, talk to us, alright," I whispered.

Ginny looked up and down the Gryffindor table in terror, as though she was checking to make sure that no one was actually listening to her. She reminded me of someone, but I couldn't seem to place it in that moment.

"We can go shooting, later, I think," I paused, "Maybe persuade a Professor to stand guard, but you'll have some time to unwind?"

Ginny was rocking backward and forward on her chair, and I realized that she looked exactly like Dobby when he wanted to say something to me and Harry, but couldn't.

"I've got to tell you something," Ginny mumbled, directly not looking at Harry while she said it.

"What is it?" Harry asked

"Come on, Ginny," I murmured as she seemed to be mulling over the correct words to say. She opened her mouth repeatedly, but no sound would ever come out. I leaned over and murmured, "Do you, y'know, know something about the Chamber of Secrets? Have you seen something or someone odd?"

Ginny breathed in deeply, her eyes wide and terrified, as Percy Weasley sat down next to her. I looked at him out the corner of my eye and realized she wasn't going to say _anything_ now that he was here. She jumped up and ran away quickly, causing me to groan and sit back in my seat.

"She was just about to tell us something rather important, you know," I muttered.

Percy choked on his tea.

"What sort of thing?" Percy asked.

"I just asked if she'd seen something odd, you know, about the Chamber of Secrets…"

"Oh – that – that's nothing to do with the Chamber of Secrets," Percy muttered, "And it's rather private so, erm, don't worry about it."

"Oh?" George, who had been sitting next to Harry, "What is it, Perce?"

"Well, er, if you must know, Ginny, ah, walked in on me the other day when I was – well, never mind – the point is, she spotted me doing something and I, um, I asked her not to mention it to anybody. I must say, I did think she'd keep her word. It's nothing, really, I'd just rather –"

"What is it, Percy?" Fred grinned cheekily next to George.

"Yeah, Perce, we won't laugh," but George was already holding one back.

"Go on, tell us," Fred demanded again.

Percy wasn't smiling and looked extraordinarily uncomfortable as he stated, "Pass me those rolls, Harry, I'm starving."

We had Defense Against the Dark Arts first that morning, and I very obviously flicked little pieces of paper at Lockhart's back every time he was turned. He didn't seem to see that I flicked them, though, or perhaps chose to ignore them altogether. As we were leaving to go to History of Magic, he complained (as always) about having to usher us through the corridors, the great King Prat. He didn't really think it was necessary because, as always, he considered the danger to be passed, though he had always been wrong before. He looked rather unkempt and exhausted and it served him right.

"Mark my words," Lockhart declared pompously, "The first words out of those poor Petrified people's mouths will be _'It was Hagrid_.' Frankly, I'm astounded Professor McGonagall thinks all these secrutiy measures are necessary.

"I agree, sir," Harry suddenly stated calmly. I looked at him in complete surprise and dropped my bag, looking at him in horror and anger. But Harry winked at me rather secretively and I realized he had a master plan with this, clearly.

"Thank you, Harry," Lockhart replied graciously as a line of Hufflepuffs passed, "I mean, we teachers have quite enough to be getting on with, without walking students to classes and standing guard all night…"

_Wait… if we get him to go away, we can go talk to Myrtle!_ I thought in excitement, finally catching on to Harry's game.

"That's right, why don't you leave us here, we've only got one more corridor…" I said calmly.

"You know, Johnson, I think I will," Lockhart declared, "I really should go and prepare my next class –"

And Lockhart was gone.

"Five galleons he's gone back to curl his hair," I hissed in Harry's ear as the Gryffindors all went ahead of us, Neville hanging back with us after seeing our little ploy. We then ducked into another passageway and headed off towards Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, but just as we were about to get to the door and were feeling quite pleased with ourselves –

"Potter! Johnson! Longbottom! What do you think you're doing?"

Professor McGonagall was looking at us all with a very, _very_ angry face.

"We… were…" I stammered, "Uh… we were going to… to go and see… uh…"

"Hermione," Harry responded firmly. We all looked at him, Neville and I having trouble veiling our shock.

"We haven't seen her for ages, Professor," Harry continued, stepping on my foot and Neville catching on on his own, "and we thought we'd sneak into the hospital wing, you know, and tell her the Mandrakes are nearly ready, and, er, not to worry –"

_Yes, because you can talk to a petrified person… Harry you are a _prat_,_ I thought in annoyance. Professor McGonagall wasn't saying anything and I was convinced she was going to explode.

But it was in a rather hoarse voice that she replied, "Of course. Of course, I realize this has all been hardest on the friends of those who have been… I quite understand. Yes, Potter, of course you may visit Miss Granger. I will inform Professor Binns where you've gone. Tell Madam Pomfrey I have given my permission."

Harry, Neville and I walked away, amazed that we had managed to avoid any punishment or reprimand. I could hear McGonagall blowing her nose behind us.

We reached the Hospital Wing and entered inside, though Pomfrey was reluctant about it.

"There really isn't any point in talking to a petrified person," she muttered angrily. But we all sat next to her calmly, Harry taking her outstretched hand in his again. I looked down at her blank face sadly, but I reminded myself repeatedly that she would be OK again very, very soon. Neville next to me just looked at her with determination on his face.

"Do you honestly think she saw the attacker, though, if he or she snuck up on her?" I sighed calmly, "I just don't want this person to get away with it…"

Harry was still looking down at Hermione's hand, and was frowning.

"What is it, Harry?" Neville asked.

He frowned, playing with her hand, seemingly trying to uncurl it.

"Don't hurt her, Harry," I hissed under my breath.

"There's a piece of paper in her hand," he responded in equal quietness.

"Well, then, get it out, I guess," I muttered in amazement. Hermione tore a piece of paper out of a library book? Why, that was sacrilege in her eyes! Neville kept watch and blocked Harry from Madam Pomfrey's view as he spent a very long time, a lot of minutes, trying to get it out. Finally, the paper came free. Harry smoothed it out and all three of us poured over it eagerly. It _was_ from a library book, and an old one at that.

_Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it._

And underneath the passage Hermione had written a single word: _Pipes_.

Harry, Neville and I all looked at each other in shock.

"This is it," Harry breathed.

"This is the monster in the Chamber of Secrets," Neville continued.

"Merlin, why didn't we _think_ of this? Slytherin, of _course the monster is a giant bloody **snake**_!" I hissed in amazement.

"We are thick, but that's not the point now," Harry shook his head.

"Of course it was a snake! _You could hear it!_" I continued in anger.

"The basilisk kills people by looking at them, but no one's died, because… because…" Harry frowned.

"No one's looked it in the eye," Neville murmured.

"Exactly!" Harry nodded fervently, "Colin saw it through his camera. The basilisk burned up all the film inside it, but Colin just got Petrified. Justin… Justin must've seen the basilisk through Nearly Headless Nick!"

"Nick must have looked straight at him, but he couldn't die _again_…" I realized.

"And Hermione and that Ravenclaw prefect were found with a mirror next to them…" Harry continued.

"Hermione had just found out it was a basilisk, so I bet you she warned the first person she met to look around corners with a mirror first! And that girl pulled out her mirror and they saw the Basilisk's reflection!" I gasped.

"And Mrs. Norris?" Neville asked eagerly.

"The water… the flood from Moaning Myrtle's bathroom… I bet Mrs. Norris was hanging on the torch to watch out for errant students and saw the reflection of the basilisk in the water…" Harry murmured.

"Harry, what was it you said Hagrid said? When you went to Dumbledore's office, about the roosters?" I gasped.

"Hagrid's roosters were killed! The Heir of Slytherin didn't want one anywhere near the castle once the Chamber was opened!" Harry exclaimed.

"_Spiders flee before it_!" I read, "It's all true!"

"But how's it been getting around? I mean, someone would have seen a humongous snake…" Neville murmured.

Harry pointed at the word _pipes_ and explained, "It's been using the plumbing… I mean, I've been hearing the voice inside the walls…"

"The entrance to the chamber of secrets!" I gasped, holding onto Harry's arm, "Pipes! What if it's in a bathroom, what if it's in –"

"_Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom!_" all three of us gasped at once.

We sat back in the glory of our realization when Neville murmured, "Well, you can't be the _only_ parselmouth at the school, Harry. The Heir's got to be one, too, to control the basilisk."

"What should we do?" I asked calmly, "Should we talk to McGonagall?"

"Let's go to the staff room," Harry nodded, "She'll be there in ten minutes, it's almost time for the break." We all ran together downstairs, going straight into the deserted staff room at once. It was a large room with panels and a lot of chairs. We were pacing in excitement, fairly eager to share what we now knew.

But the break bell never came, and instead an announcement in McGonagall's voice went on through the corridors.

"_All students return to their House Dormitories at once. All teachers return to the staff room. Immediately, please."_

"Not _another_ attack!" Neville groaned, "Not _now_!"

"What do we do?" I asked Harry, "Do we do as she says?"

"No," Harry responded firmly, looking around and finding a wardrobe nearby, "In here. Let's hear what it's all about. Then we can tell them."

We all managed to stuff ourselves into the wardrobe, actually not too squished at all. My heart was pounding in my ears again as I thought, in terror, what could be going on _now_. We could see through the cloaks the teachers filing in, all with many different expressions – some of terror, some of confusion. Professor McGonagall arrived last.

"It has happened," she said, her voice rather shaken, "A student has been taken by the monster. Right into the Chamber itself."

Harry, Neville and I looked at each other in panic as Professor Flitwick squeaked, Professor Sprout clapped her hands over her mouth. Snape's hands were gripping a chair so tightly they were white at the knuckles.

"How can you be sure?" he demanded, his voice very weak.

"The Heir of Slytherin," Professor McGonagall explained, her face so pale it was the color of chalk, "left another message. Right underneath the first one. _Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever._"

Professor Flitwick burst into tears. Harry gripped my arm tightly and I gripped Neville's arm in equal tightness. I was trying really hard to not freak out.

"Who is it?" Madam Hooch demanded after sinking into a chair, "Which student?"

"Ginny Weasley," Professor McGonagall responded.

I wanted to squeak in horror but Harry seemed to know I would do that, clapping a hand over my mouth immediately as my sob came out. Tears began pouring out of my eyes with grief. Not Ginny. Not that innocent little girl. Not her.

"We shall have to send all the students home tomorrow," Professor McGonagall whispered, "This is the end of Hogwarts… Dumbledore always said…"

The staffroom door banged open again. I prayed to god it was Dumbledore, but instead it was his opposite – Lockhart.

_I WILL KILL YOU_, I thought in fury, struggling to rip free of Harry and now, Neville's, grips.

"So sorry – dozed off – what have I missed?" he beamed around the room.

All the teachers were looking at Lockhart with pure loathing, and I knew that the only reason Lockhart hadn't gotten me thrown out was because the teachers had been sticking up for me, because they agreed with me.

_Oh, what does that matter now. Ginny…_

Snape stepped forward and stated, masking most of his hatred, "Just the man. The very man. A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart. Taken into the Chamber of Secrets itself. Your moment has come at last."

"That's right, Gilderoy," Professor Sprout exclaimed, "Weren't you just saying last night that you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?"

"Well, well, I… ah…" Lockhart sputtered.

"Yes, didn't you tell me you were sure you knew what was inside it?" Professor Flitwick piped up.

"D-did I? I don't recall –"

"I certainly remember you saying you were sorry you hadn't had a crack at the monster before Hagrid was arrested. Didn't you say that the whole affair had been bumbled, and that you should have been given a free reign from the first?

Lockhart was clearly panicking which gave me a sick, sick pleasure.

"I – I never really – you may have misunderstood –"

"We'll leave it to you, then, Gilderoy," Professor McGonagall declared decisively, "Tonight will be an excellent time to do it. We'll make sure everyone's out of your way. You'll be able to tackle the monster all by yourself. A free rein at last."

Lockhart looked panicky, pathetic, and feeble as he responded, "V-very well… I'll – I'll be in my office, getting – getting ready."

And then he left in a flash of purple robes.

"Right," Professor McGonagall looked as though she had stepped in dragon dung, "that's got _him_ out from under our feet. The Heads of Houses should go and inform their students what has happened. Tell them the Hogwarts Express will take them home first thing tomorrow. Will the rest of you please make sure no students have been left outside their dormitories."

I couldn't take it anymore. I burst out of the wardrobe and shouted, "WAIT!" All the teachers looked around at me, still dishelveled with the stains of my tears on my cheeks. Harry and Neville, both realizing they couldn't stop me, stumbled out in defeat.

"Miss – Johnson – what are you doing out of the –" Professor McGonagall couldn't seem to be able to say anything at all at this point.

"We figured out what's down there, and – and – " I swallowed, "Maybe – how to stop it?"

Everyone's eyes were wide at my last declaration. True, I had no _clue_ how to stop it, but I was grasping at straws.

"Enlighten us, Miss Johnson," Snape ordered in as calm of a voice as he could muster.

"It's a basilisk. The… the monster is a basilisk," I croaked, "Harry's been hearing voices all year – we just haven't told you because you'd obviously think he was mental. And… And he's been hearing the voices inside the wall. Well when we visited Hermione earlier, we saw she had a piece of paper in her hand, and it was all about the basilisk – it's a giant snake that can live for hundreds of years, so that's why Harry could understand it, he's a – he's a parseltongue – and it kills with its eyes, when you look into it, but no one's _actually_ looked into its eyes, just into its reflection or something similar – Mrs. Norris into the water, Colin through his camera, Justin through Nearly Headless Nick, and Hermione and the Ravenclaw Girl with the mirror, so they were all petrified… and those roosters were getting killed because the Heir didn't want them around, the cry of a rooster is fatal to a basilisk… And there's been all these spiders leaving the castle in droves lately, dunno if you've… if you've seen them, but they flee from basilisks, they're mortal enemies… And Hermione figured out the basilisk's been hiding from everyone by traveling in the plumbing, which is _why_ Harry heard it in the walls…"

Everyone was looking at me with wide eyes.

"And… well, we know where the entrance to the chamber is, we think, because if it's traveling through plumbing then it's probably coming through a bathroom, and well, fifty years ago the Chamber was opened, we know, and someone – a girl – died, so we figured it had to be Moaning Myrtle, she was killed in a bathroom, _the _bathroom she stays in now, she's never left, and – and – and the entrance is down there, so if we could… somehow… get down there – Harry probably could, since I figure you enter with parseltongue and everything – we could defeat it," I finished, "We've _got_ to, we've just _got_ to."

Professor McGonagall looked amazed, "That is amazing deduction work, Miss Johnson, Mr. Potter, Mr. Longbottom. And it would be wonderful if any of us _could_ defeat a basilisk…"

"Harry could," I responded firmly, "He's a parselmouth, he can do it, and if we got some roosters here –"

"Be that as it may, we still don't know who the Heir is, and Miss Weasley is still in all likelihood dead," Professor McGonagall sighed, "And I still don't see how Mr. Potter or _anyone_ could defeat a basilisk."

"I disagree about Ginny! I think we still have time!" I blurted out.

Now everyone looked at me, not with amazement, but pity.

"Miss Johnson, if the monster _is_ a basilisk like you say, then Miss Weasley has been alone with it for hours and I really don't think –" Professor McGonagall dissuaded kindly.

"Here's the thing, though – if the Heir just wanted to kill her, he would have done it in the corridor outside the bathroom under the sign or something. The point of taking her into the Chamber is not to kill her, but to… well, it has a greater purpose; she wouldn't have been killed immediately – I really think she might still be alive," I whispered.

"That seems like a plausible theory, Minerva," Snape murmured softly.

"Even so, how would we _fight a basilisk_ quickly enough before she died? There are a lot of things we are simply not _prepared for_…" Professor McGonagall sighed.

"Let us go down into the Chamber. Let us try. You can send a Professor with us, or two or three, we don't care, but we can't just _sit here_," I begged.

"All _three of you_?" Professor McGonagall gasped, "No, I will _not_ –"

"Professor, we would have done it secretly anyway. It's what we _do_," I sighed, "Please."

"It is completely _out of the question_," Professor McGonagall snapped.

"What else can you do? If the school's going to close anyway, you have no more jurisdiction," I stood up tall, but I was still shaking a little, "It would be pointless to expel me, and I'm not just going to _sit here_ when I could _do something_ to help save a little girl –"

"Me neither," Harry nodded, his eyebrows narrowed in determination.

"Me, neither," Neville whispered, one of the fiercest expressions I had ever seen before on his face.

"They have a point, Minerva," Snape sighed.

"Who should go with them?" Professor Sprout asked calmly. Harry, Neville and I all looked at each other in amazement.

"I think – and this is just a crazy idea – we should make Lockhart's life hell and force him down with us," I suggested.

The professors all somehow managed to chuckle.

"Well, I can't really argue with that," McGonagall paused, "And I shall come too."

"Will that be enough? This is a _basilisk_ we're talking about," Snape demanded.

"We can't take too many down without drawing attention to ourselves. The thing can _smell_, Severus. If anyone knows of where we can find a rooster…" McGongall sighed.

All the teachers shook their heads.

"Alright then. I can't believe you've talked me into this, Miss Johnson, but I don't see any other alternative than what you've posed," McGonagall sighed again, "Let us go."

We all marched out of the staff room and down the corridors to Lockhart's office. We entered inside it, McGonagall leading the way, to find Lockhart buried amongst his suitcases, clearly packing all of his belongings into them.

"Gilderoy," McGongall spoke sharply. He jumped and squeaked a little upon her entrance.

"Oh, Professor, I was just gathering some, erm –"

"You're running away," I spoke sharply. He looked at me in fury.

"Miss Johnson –"

"Oh shut _up!_" I roared, "Just shut _up_! You're an old fraud and you're running away when we could still save the girl. You're horrific, pompous, annoying, and an idiot and if you _dare_ threaten me again I will _unleash the fury of a thousand suns_."

Lockhart glowered at me and approached us.

"Do you _honestly_ think I take the word of your books as truth anymore?" I hissed, "I think you made it all up."

"Do use your _common sense_ girl," Lockhart snapped, "My books wouldn't have sold half as well if they didn't have a grain of truth in them, and if I hadn't done all those things. No one wants to read about nonsense that I make up or an ugly old Armenian warlock even if he save a village from werewolves. He'd look dreadful on the front cover…."

"So you've just been taking credit for what others have done?" Harry roared.

"There was work involved –"

"_You are a horrible person!_" I shrieked.

"Well, you'll never remember that, will you?" Lockhart stepped out with his wand, "I might be right horrific at most magic, but I am rather gifted with memory charms – it's how I've gotten away with all this –"

"Gilderoy…" Minerva began in a dangerous voice.

"Yes, you first, I think – " Gilderoy began, but I had already pulled out my wand. As he said, "_Obliviate!_" I aimed my wand sideways in front of McGonagall and shouted "_PROTEGO!"_

The angle of the shield charm caused the memory charm to backfire onto Lockhart, but it also caused the foundation of the tower to rumble and shake. Part of the stone wall cracked and fell and I managed to duck out of the way, pulling Harry and Neville down with me, just as it all crashed down around us.

I coughed on the dust and stood up, looking around wildly for Professor McGonagall.

"Professor? _Professor!_" I shouted.

I heard weak coughing and ran to dig up some of the rubble off of the dark green color of her robes. I finally managed to unearth her, and she looked very wounded.

"Don't worry about me," she coughed, "I'll be fine."

"No, you won't –" I whispered.

"You have to go down there. It's up to you three, now," but Professor McGonagall was coughing very weakly.

"No," I responded firmly, turning to Harry, "It's up to Harry, now."

"_Me_?" Harry responded weakly, standing up with Neville.

"Neville and I will be _useless_ down there, and here we can help Professor McGonagall get down to the Hospital Wing," I responded calmly, "She needs us just as much as Ginny needs you."

"I can't… Maggie, I can't go down there alone," Harry begged.

I looked at him in amazement. I had never seen him so vulnerable.

"Go with him, Maggie," McGonagall ordered, "You, too, Longbottom. _Go_."

"But –"

"GO!"

We three ran down the corridors from the office, sprinting through the castle. We ran into, thankfully, Professor Sprout, who immediately went to go help McGongall in the office, with us lying about finding another professor to help us. We then continued on to the bathroom, entering it immediately and finding Myrtle there.

"Oh, it's you," Myrtle commented when she saw Harry there, "What do you want this time?"

"To ask you how you died," Harry responded calmly.

"Oooh," Myrtle looked positively elated at being asked that question, "It happened right in here. I died in this very stall. I remember it so well. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked, and I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in. They said something funny, a different language, I think it must have been. Anyway, what really got me was that it was a _boy_ speaking. So I unlocked the door, to tell him to go and use his own toilet, and then –" Myrtle took a deep breath to create suspense, "_I died_."

"How?" Harry furthered.

"No idea," Myrtle whispered, "I just remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes. My whole body sort of seized up, and then I was floating away… and then I came back again. I was determined to haunt Olive Hornby, you see. Oh, she was sorry she'd ever laughed at my glasses."

"Where exactly did you see the eyes?" Harry questioned.

"Somewhere there," Myrtle pointed to the sink in front of her toilet.

We examined every inch of the sink for something straight, all the pipes and everything else. Then, Harry saw a tiny snake scratched on the side of one of the taps.

"Well, say something in parseltongue," I whispered.

Harry frowned in concentration as he ordered allowed in English, "Open Up." He looked at me expectantly and I shook my head.

Harry looked at the sink again, concentrating even harder, moving his head just slightly. He opened his mouth again and this time the sounds coming out were hissing. The sink began to move and it sank right out of sigh, leaving a large pipe exposed for a man to slide into.

"I'm going down there," Harry declared.

"We're following you," I murmured. He smiled weakly and jumped down through the pipe. I followed quickly and I heard Neville squeaking along behind us.

It was a basically a humongous, slimy, dark slide as we rushed along it, falling deeper and deeper and deeper below the school until, finally, I landed next to Harry in a pile of skeletons. Neville landed behind us and ran into us both with a _thump_.

"We must be miles under the school," Harry murmured in amazement.

I observed all the slimy walls and grimaced, "It's way too wet. We're probably under the lake or something."

It was very dark and Neville took the lead in murmuring, "_Lumos_." He was shaking madly and clearly terrified as we crept along through the corridors. We could only see a little ways ahead in the corridor and I felt a chill run through me in terror.

"Remember," Harry murmured softly, "Any sign of movement, close your eyes right away…"

The tunnel was so quiet I felt like I was in some sort of void of nothingness as we crept along it, all of us too terrified to move unnecessarily as we did so. The floor was littered with the bones of animals as we walked along it, crunching beneath our feet.

"There's – guys – there's something up there –" Neville whispered, holding onto my arm. We all froze in place, watching in terror. There was an outline ahead, something huge and curved right across the tunnel, not moving.

"Is it sleeping or something?" I asked. Harry moved forward slowly, creeping forward, his wand held high to reveal it was actually a huge snake skin, vivid green, curled and empty across the tunnel floor. The creature must have been twenty, thirty feet long.

"Joy," I muttered in amazement.

"Let's keep moving," Harry sighed. We continued on through the ever turning tunnel, holding hands with each other once again and still holding onto our wands. I didn't know whether I wanted to tunnel to end and for us to finally face the monster, or for it to continue on in safety. Finally, we reached a solid wall on which two entwined snakes were carved, their eyes set with giant emeralds.

"Green _used_ to be my favorite color," I commented lightly.

"What is it now?" Neville asked in an equal tone of unimportance.

"Blue, I think," I murmured.

Harry approached the wall, swallowed dryly, and murmured the same hissing as before. I decided it probably meant something along the lines of _Open Up_ or something similar.

The wall cracked open, and we all walked inside shaking madly.

The chamber was long and dimly lit. There were towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents to support a ceiling lost in the darkness, casting long, black shadows through the odd greenish gloom of the place. My heart was pounding in my ears and I strained my eyes for any sign of movement, wondering where Ginny was, wondering who the Heir was, and just generally panicking.

As we finally reached the last pair of pillars, we could see a giant statue as tall as the Chamber itself, standing against the back wall. The face was ancient and monkeyish, with a long thin beard that fell to the bottom of the wizard's sweeping stone robes, where two enormous gray feet stood on the chamber floor. Between the feet, facedown, lay a small black-robed figure with flaming-red hair.

"_Ginny!_" we all shouted anxiously, running to the figure and kneeling beside her.

"Please don't be dead, please, please," I groaned as Harry threw his wand aside and turned Ginny over. Her face was white and she was very cold, but her eyes were closed.

"Please wake up," Neville begged, "Please."

I lifted her wrist and placed my fingers against her. Weakly, her blood moved against my fingers.

"She's still alive," I murmured, "Somehow. What's _wrong_ with her?"

"She is still alive," a soft voice called out, "But only just."

We all turned around to see a tall, black-haired boy leaning against a pillar, strangely blurred around the edges. Neville and I looked at him in confusion, having never seen him before; but Harry gasped out, "Tom – _Tom Riddle?_"

The boy nodded and Neville and I looked at each other in amazement again.

"Are you a ghost?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"A memory," Riddle answered quietly, "Preserved in a diary for fifty years."

He pointed toward the floor near the statue's toes, and there was the little black diary. I frowned at it, wondering how it had got there, and then remembered something Ginny had said, once –

"_I'm writing in my diary, and I'm feeling ill, so I was just going to take a nap when I was done_." That had been at Christmas. Soon after that, she had left the common room in a sort of daze; I remembered because I had been so confused. And soon after _that_, Justin and Nearly Headless Nick had been petri-

Holy. Shit.

"It was you," I whispered. Riddle looked at me in confusion.

"And who are you?" he asked calmly.

"Maggie Johnson," I spat out, "And it was you, the whole time, wasn't it?"

He smiled, smirked really, at me.

"You are the Heir of Slytherin," I whispered, "You opened the Chamber fifty years ago, and somehow, I don't know how, you managed to frame Hagrid for it – that's how you got your award, because the attacks stopped when Hagrid was expelled because _you_ stopped doing them. But you, I dunno, didn't want to have kids or something but still wanted to make sure you could open the Chamber again so you could keep killing muggle-borns, so… so you preserved a memory of yourself in the diary, which of course I have no idea how you did, and… and…" I frowned, thinking hard, "And somehow Ginny got a hold of your diary, and she talked to you, and you possessed her or forced her to open the chamber and attack people – _that's_ why there weren't any attacks for four months, because Harry had the diary so you couldn't possess Ginny, but so soon after she stole the diary back the attacks started again, and that's why it's down here, and why you're bother here… but I still don't understand… why she's…"

"She's good, this one," Riddle smiled slyly, "Ginny mentioned you, you're Harry Potter's adopted sister, aren't you? Quite clever of you to figure all that out."

Harry looked completely shocked and Neville still looked rather confused.

Riddle, during my explanation, had picked up Harry's wand and was twirling it between his fingers.

"Give me my wand," Harry whispered dangerously.

"Oh, you won't be needing it," Riddle smiled wider, "Your dear sister left out some parts of the puzzle, I'm afraid."

I raised my wand and hissed, "Give him back his wand." But Riddle waved it instead and both my wand and Neville's wand came flying out of our hands and into his.

"Three wands in one day, why, I should start a shop," Riddle commented sarcastically as Neville and I both shouted in protest.

"And who's the last one, then?" he asked as he pocketed the wands, "The one with the dumb expression on his face."

"He's not _dumb_," I snapped, "He's brilliant –"

"Neville Longbottom," Neville responded feebly.

"Huh, Ginny never mentioned _you_," Riddle commented, "You must be rather unimportant."

I hissed in anger but stayed my ground, painfully aware that we were completely unarmed.

"How did Ginny get like this?" Harry asked in a surprisingly calm voice.

"Well, she opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger – _me_. She wrote it in it for months and months, telling me all of her pitiful worries and woes – how her brothers _tease_ her, how she had to come to school with secondhand books and robes, how she didn't think famous, good, great Harry Potter would _ever_ like her," Riddle was staring only at Harry now, with an almost hungry look in them.

"It's very _boring_, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven-year-old-girl, but I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic. I was kind. Ginny simply _loved_ me. '_No one's ever understood me like you, Tom… I'm so glad I've got this diary to confide in… it's like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket…_" Riddle laughed, cruelly and in a high pitch. The hairs stood up on my arm and the back of my neck as I looked over at Neville out the corner of my eye in a panic.

"If I say so myself, I've always been able to charm the people I needed. So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted… I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darker secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of _my_ secrets, to start pouring a little of _my_ soul back into _her_."

"So she opened the Chamber of Secrets," Harry spat angrily.

"Yes," Riddle smiled, "Of course, she didn't _know_ what she was doing at first. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her new diary entries… far more interesting, they became… _Dear Tom_," he recited in a mocking, girly voice, "_I think I'm losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes and I don't know how they got there. Dear Tom, I can't remember what I did on the night of Halloween, but a cat was attacked and I've got paint all down my front. Dear Tom, everyone keeps telling me I'm pale and not myself, I think Percy suspects me and Fred and George have got Harry's sister to try and look after me… There was another attack today and I don't know where I was, Tom, what am I going to do? I think I'm going mad… I think I'm the one attacking everyone, Tom, but Maggie's so nice to me it makes me feel so guilty, how am I supposed to tell her I'm hurting people and don't deserve her respect, Tom?"_ Riddle smiled even crueler at me.

"It wasn't her, it was you, using her as a pawn," I hissed, "My respect for her has only grown."

"Well, it will be a rather posthumous respect, won't it? But it took a very long time for stupid little Ginny to stop trusting her diary. She finally became suspicious and tried to dispose of it – thanks to you, I found out later, Johnson. And that's where _you_ came in, Harry. You found it, and I couldn't have been more delighted. Of all the people who could have picked it up, it was _you_, the very person I was most anxious to meet…" Riddle continued.

Another lightbulb went off in my brain as I sat there, listening to this. _One – Harry Potter was destined as the only person who could defeat Lord Voldypants. Two, Snape told me that Lord Voldypants was a parselmouth, like Harry. Three, Riddle was anxious to meet Harry – he probably knew all about Harry from Ginny gushing about him. Four – Riddle was pure evil, Voldemort was pure evil – _

"How many pure evil guys can exist?" I whispered allowed in Riddle's brief pause.

"Now now, Johnson, let's not ruin the surprise for your apparently idiotic adopted brother," Riddle simpered. I glared at him and wanted to rush forward and _strangle_ him.

"Wait, _what –_" Harry and Neville both gasped.

"I'll get to it, Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. You see, Ginny told me all about you, Harry – Your whole _fascinating_ history. I knew I must find out more about you, talk to you, meet you if I could. So I decided to show you my famous capture of that great oaf, Hagrid, to gain your trust," Riddle continued.

"You framed him," Harry hissed in fury.

"It was my word against Hagrid's, and let's just say, his record when it came to dangerous beasts was against him," Riddle smirked, "Only Dumbledore seemed to think Hagrid was innocent. He persuaded Headmaster Dippet to keep Hagrid and train him as gamekeeper… Dumbledore might have guessed… he never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did…."

"Bet he saw right through you," Neville sneered.

"Well, he certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me after Hagrid was expelled. I knew it wouldn't be safe to open the Chamber again while I was still at school. But I wasn't going to waste those long years I'd spent searching for it. I decided to leave behind a diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in its pages, so that one day, with luck, I would be able to lead another in my footsteps, and finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work."

"Well, you haven't finished it," Harry declared triumphantly, "No one's died this time, not even the cat. In a few hours the Mandrake Draught will be ready and everyone who was Petrified will be all right again –"

"Haven't I already told you that killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore? For many months now, my new target has been you," Riddle declared softly.

_Of Course it was, Lord Voldy-Pants_.

"Imagine how angry I was when the next time my diary was opened, it was Ginny who was writing to me, not you. She saw you with the diary, you see, and panicked. What if you found out how to work it, and I repeated all her secrets to you, or told you who'd been strangling roosters? So the brat stole it back and it was clear to me you were on the trail of Slytherin's Heir. From everything Ginny had told me about you, I knew you would go to any lengths to solve the mystery –particularly if one of your best friends was attacked. And Ginny had told me the whole school was buzzing because you could speak Parseltongue, so I made Ginny write her own farewell on the wall and come down here to wait. She struggled and cried and became _very_ boring. But there isn't much life left in her… She put too much into the diary, into me. Enough to let me leave its pages at last… I have been waiting for you to appear since we arrived here. I knew you'd come. I have many questions for you, Harry Potter," Riddle smiled.

"Like what?" Harry spat, his fists clenched.

"Well," Riddle continued to smile pleasantly, "How is it that _you_ – a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent – managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did _you_ escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"

Harry still looked clueless, but Neville's eyes widened and his mouth opened in the shape of an _O_.

"Why do you care how I escaped? Voldemort was after your time…" Harry asked slowly.

"No, he wasn't," Neville suddenly realized.

"Good, Longbottom's figured it out too, meaning you get to claim the stupid prize, Harry Potter. You see, Voldemort is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter…" Riddle explained softly.

He waved Harry's wand in the air and the words _Tom Marvolo Riddle_, his name, appeared there. He then waved the wand again and the letters rearranged to spell out _I am Lord Voldemort_. Harry looked in shock, his eyes wide in amazement.

"You see?" Voldemort smiled, "It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course. You think I was going to use my filthy muggle father's name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother's side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No, Harry – I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew izards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!"

We stared at him, my eyes narrowing in hatred. After a while, Harry's brain finally recovered enough from the shock to work again.

"You're not,' he said quietly.

"Not what?" Voldemort snapped.

"Not the greatest sorcerer in the world. Sorry to disappoint you and all that, but the greatest wizard in the world is Albus Dumbledore. Everyone says so. Even when you were strong, you didn't dare try and take over at Hogwarts. Dumbledore saw through you when you were at school and he still frightens you now, wherever you're hiding these days –"

"Here, here," I shouted, clapping Harry on the back in pride. Voldemort's eyes had narrowed into a look of pure ugliness.

"Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere _memory_ of me -!"

"_Dumbledore will only **truly** have left this school when none here are loyal to him_!" all three of us quoted in a shout. Only now did I feel a chill when I said those words, as if they truly meant something real, something magical.

Music suddenly sounded throughout the Chamber, drowning out whatever retort Riddle was about to pose. We all turned around to stare down the empty chamber as the music grew louder and louder and louder. It was so unearthly it lifted the hairs off the back of my arms and neck and I felt a warmth run through me similar to the hug of a friend or the comfort of a parent. The music rose to a pitch that seemed to vibrate from inside of me and then flames erupted at the top of the nearest bird.

A crimson bird the size of a swan had appeared, piping its music to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacock's and gleaming gold talons, which were gripping a ragged bundle and a wooden stick.

The bird flew straight towards us and dropped the hat in Neville's hands and the wooden items into mine, before landing on Harry's shoulder. I looked in shock – the bird had delivered my bow and arrows to me. I quickly put on the quiver and notched an arrow and Neville stared down at the bundle in confusion. I could see it was the Sorting Hat. The bird perched on Harry's shoulder and looked steadily at Riddle.

"That's a phoenix…" Riddle stared shrewdly back at the bird.

"_Fawkes?_" Harry breathed, and I recognized the name of Dumbledore's pet.

"And _that_," Riddle pointed at the hat in Neville's hands, "Is the old school Sorting Hat. And those are useless, outdated muggle weapons," he nodded at me and suddenly began laughing in that cold, high pitch again. I raised the arrow and glared in fury.

"Don't bother with that, Johnson. I'm not fully formed yet, it'll just go right through me," Riddle smiled coldly. I lowered the bow and glared even more.

"This is what Dumbledore sends his defenders! A songbird, a useless weapon and an old hat! Do you feel brave, Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom and Maggie Johnson? Do you feel _safe_ now?" Riddle mocked.

"Wherever my mates are, I am safe in some way," Harry murmured softly. Riddle laughed even louder but Neville and I nodded in fierce agreement.

"Nay, Harry Potter. Now you simply get to see two people you care about – one of them the person you care about the very most – be murdered in front of your very eyes, right before you are murdered yourself. But back to business, Harry," Riddle was smiling widely again, "Twice – in _your_ past, in _my_ future, we have met. And twice I failed to kill you. _How did you survive?_ Tell me everything. The longer you talk," he continued softly, "The longer you three survive."

Harry was thinking rapidly on his feet before finally saying, "No one knows why you lost your powers when you attacked me. I don't know myself. But I know why you couldn't _kill_ me. Because my mother died to save me. My common _muggle-born_ mother," he spat, "She stopped you killing me. And I've seen the real you. I saw you last year. You're a wreck. You're barely alive. That's where all your power got you. You're in hiding, you're ugly, you're foul –"

Riddle's face contorted and then he forced another smile, "So. Your mother died to save you. Yes, that's a powerful counter-charm. I can see now… there is nothing special about you, after all. I wondered, you see. There are strange likenesses between us, after all. Even you must have noticed. Both half-bloods, orphans. Probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. We even _look_ something alike… but after all, it was merely a lucky chance that saved you from me. That's all I wanted to know."

Riddle smiled widely again and continued, "Now, Harry, Maggie, Neville, I am going to teach you a little lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against famous Harry Potter, his friends, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him…"

He walked away and I felt fear course through me as Riddle went over to the high pillars and the stone face of Slytherin, high above him in the darkness. He opened his mouth wide and hissed, and I couldn't understand a word he said as the mouth of the gigantic stone face opened to reveal a huge black hole – and something was stirring inside the statue's mouth, something was slithering up from the depths.

_Shit!_ I thought in a panic and closed my eyes immediately. I prayed that Harry and Neville had done the same. My arrows were no use, because I couldn't even take the chance to look at the thing. I wanted to start crying but I forced my eyes shut.

Something huge hit the stone floor of the Chamber. I knew what was happening, I could sense it clearly, and I heard Riddle hiss again.

I felt Harry grab onto me and I hoped he had grabbed onto Neville on his other side as he dragged us sideways, running along the Chamber. I could hear Voldemort laughing in the background as I blindly shot an arrow. I heard the great snake hiss in anger and I felt proud to at least have hit the thing _somewhere_.

Suddenly, I felt someone trip, and I felt terrible that one of my last thoughts in life was going to be _NEVILLE YOU CLUMSY OAF_. I felt something smash into me and I began whimpering along with Neville, who had been for a long time now, and I braced myself for the fangs that were sure to sink into me –

But then I heard a mad hissing, something was thrashing wildly off of the pillars.

I let my eyes open a slight crack, as I figured I was dead anyway I might as well know what was going on. I looked up to see the giant snake, a bright poisonous green, thick as an oak tree, was high in the air and its head was weaving drunkenly through the pillars. Fawkes was soaring around it's head, and the basilisk was snapping furiously at him with fangs long and thin as sabers. Fawkes dived, the golden beak sunk out of sight and a sudden shower of dark blood spattered the floor. The snake's tail thrashed wildly and narrowly missed Neville. It turned, suddenly, before I could close my eyes – but I was safe. We all were safe. The eyes had been punctured by the phoenix and blood was streaming to the floor.

"WE CAN LOOK AT IT NOW!" I shouted. Neville nearby opened his eyes and I could see Harry had already had his open, too.

Riddle was screaming in angry parseltongue as the snake swayed in confusion, still deadly with its teeth. Fawkes continued to attack it as Neville looked down into the hat desperately

"_We need help!_" he shouted into it, clearly not thinking straight. But suddenly, something glistening appeared inside the hat, the handle glittering with rubies. Neville pulled it out in confusion, somehow managing to hold onto the hilt despite its weight. It actually looked rather natural in his hands, and he held it with surprising ease.

Riddle hissed even louder in anger as we all got to our feet. Fawkes returned to Harry's shoulder, a weapon of Harry's own, as we all approached the Snake. Neville no longer looked at ease, instead he looked terrified as he lunched at the Snake with the sword, stabbing him in the belly, and diving back again. I shot another arrow and it hit him in the neck, blood spurting everywhere from both wounds. The snake lunged again at a pillar and Harry dived out of the way just in time. Neville slashed at the beast, clearly shaking, as I shot yet another arrow that missed and bounced off a pillar.

The snake turned to Harry and he shouted, "NEVILLE, THE SWORD! THROW IT TO ME!" Neville obliged and tossed it surprisingly deftly into the air, and Harry caught it by the hilt. He and the snake lunged at once and he started screaming in pain, almost in unison with the snake's pained roars. Neville and I stepped back and I wanted to know what was going on as, suddenly, the snake collapsed to the ground. I watched as Harry pulled the sword out of the roof of the snake's mouth and saw that one, long, poisonous fang was sticking out of his arm. He ripped it out and stumbled to the ground.

"_NO!_" Neville and I screamed, running forward. I felt tears spring from my eyes as I knelt next to him, holding onto him in terror

"No, Harry, _no_, please, _no_," I sobbed, my body shaking, "_NO!"_

Fawkes landed on Harry's shoulder as Neville reached out and held me in his arms. I couldn't stop sobbing.

"Fawkes… You were fantastic, Fawkes. And you two… were brilliant," Harry gasped thickly, "Maggie, Neville, you were brilliant."

"Ah, but you are dead, Harry Potter," Voldemort murmured softly, "And soon, your friends will follow you. Even Dumbledore's bird knows it, in fact. Do you see what he's doing, Potter? He's crying."

I looked to see Fawkes with tears streaming out of his eyes. But something was strange about that – I tried to remember what Harry had mentioned about phoenixes after his visit to Dumbledore's office…

"I'm going to sit here and watch you die, Harry Potter. I'll even do you a favor. I'll kill your friends kindly once you've gone," Riddle smiled cruelly, "I'm in no hurry and I have no use for a painful death for them."

I sobbed heavily, shaking madly as Neville tightened his hold around me. I reached out and held Harry's hand as Fawkes' tears hit the wound in his arm.

I frowned in amazement as each tear caused the blood to dry up and the wound to close – as they seeped into Harry's bloodstream, the blood that had turned green with the poison began turning blue again in his veins, and I looked up in shock and whispered, "_Healing powers._"

"What?" Riddle demanded angrily. I turned to him with the widest smile on my tear-stained face.

"Oh, Voldy, Voldy, Voldy," I laughed, "Phoenix tears have healing powers, didn't you know?"

Riddle's eyes widened as the blood in Harry's veins returned to normal and the wound closed up. Harry's eyes opened wider and he sat up, looking down at his arm in amazement. I threw my arms around him in pure joy.

"Get away, bird," Riddle shouted, "Get away from him – I said, _get away –_"

Harry raised his head to see Riddle pointing his wand at him.

"I forgot, phoenix tears have healing powers, you're absolutely right, Johnson. But no matter. I prefer it this way. Just you and me, Harry Potter – you and me…"

Voldemort was almost completely solid now and as he raised Harry's wand I took a wild chance. I shot an arrow at his shoulder – my aim was a little off – and this time it actually it, lodging and causing him to drop the wand in shock. Blood didn't pour from the wound, so I knew Ginny must still be alive.

"Why – you – little –" Riddle shouted as Fawkes flew back, carrying something and dropping it in Harry's lap.

It was Riddle's diary.

Harry seized the basilisk fang automatically as I grabbed Harry's wand and he stabbed the diary with the fang, as though this was the natural reaction. There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Ink spurted out of the diary in rivers, splashing all four of us (even Fawkes,) flooding the floor. Riddle fell to the ground, writhing and twisting and screaming and flailing and then –

He was gone. I gave Harry his wand in silence, too shocked to even say anything.

Neville seemed to regain himself the quickest, standing up and helping both me and Harry up with him. He grabbed the sword and managed to slip it in his belt loop without cutting it, and put the Sorting hat on his head. The sight made me laugh hysterically as Fawkes perched on Harry's shoulder and I picked up my arrows and both Neville's and my wands from the floor, handing him his and pocketing mine.

We walked towards Ginny, who had sat up, shaking. The sight of us made her eyes go wide with shock.

"Oh – Harry, Maggie, Neville – Oh, I tried to tell you all at b-b-breakfast, but I _couldn't_ s-say it in front of P-P-Percy – It was _me,_ guys – but I – I s-s-swear I d-didn't mean to – R-R-Riddle made m0me, he t-took me over and… and _how_ did you kill that – that thing? W-where's Riddle? The last thing I r-remember is him coming out of the diary –"

"It's all right," Harry lifted up the diary and showing the fang hole, "Riddle's finished. Look! Him _and_ the basilisk. C'mon, Ginny, let's get out of here –"

"I'm going to be expelled!" Ginny wept as I helped her up.

"No, you're not. None of this was your fault," I interrupted kindly. Neville helped her walk forward with me and murmured, "Don't worry, Ginny. Everyone is going to be _much_ more glad that you're alive than upset you made a very, very innocent mistake."

"I-Innocent?" Ginny wailed.

"Well, yeah," Neville smiled slightly, "You got possessed by Lord Voldemort. Lots of people have before you and they were much more powerful witches and wizards than you – no offense of course – and couldn't stop him. No one's going to blame you for writing in a diary at the age of eleven."

Ginny sniffled and Neville smiled at her again as we looked around the Chamber.

"How are we going to get out of here?" I asked with a sigh after realizing how screwed we kind of were.

"Well," Harry paused, looking up at the bird perched on his shoulder with a smile, "Did I mention how strong phoenixes are?"

Neville, Ginny and I looked at him in confusion. He lead us down the chamber corridors, walking through them and actually _whistling_ as the three of us found ourselves with a lack of words in response. None of us knew _why_ Harry was so cheerful about the passageway we couldn't climb back up due to slipperiness. Finally, we reached the mouth of the slide, and we all looked at him in bemusement as he grabbed onto the tail of the bird. He then held my hand, and I held Neville's, and he held Ginny's, and the bird let out a musical cry before flapping its wings and taking off into the slide, flying. Somehow, Fawkes lifted all of us up, up through the passageway and out into Myrtle's bathroom once again.

We were all covered in blood and slime and muck and my knees were positively shaking. Myrtle looked at us all in shock and whispered, "You're alive."

"No need to sound so disappointed," Harry replied grimly, wiping blood off of his glasses.

"Oh, well… I'd just been thinking… if you had died, you'd have been welcome to share my toilet," Myrtle explained, blushing.

"Oh, great," Harry stammered. We all went down through the corridors to Professor McGonagall's office, not really sure of where else to go. I knocked lightly and Harry opened the door.

The sight inside was rather surprising. Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall (all bandaged up and repaired,) and all the Weasleys – Mr. and Mrs., Ron, Fred, George, Percy, and two more who were older and I didn't recognize were standing there.

Fawkes wooshed past Harry's ear and landed on Dumbledore's shoulder. Professor McGonagall had tears in her eyes that were quite out of character.

Mrs. Weasley suddenly rushed forward and pulled Ginny into her arms and then turned to the three of us and hugged us as well, shouting, "You saved her! You saved her! _How _did you do it?"

"How are you doing, Professor?" I asked Professor McGonagall through Mrs. Weasley's tight hold.

"I think that question would be better posed to you three," she answered softly.

Mrs. Weasley let go of us and Harry began telling the whole store from the beginning – polyjuice potion and everything – as Neville and I sat down. Neville was looking at the sword in amazement in his hands, reading the inscription _Godric Gryffindor_ on the blade.

Finally, Harry finished the story. Dumbledore stepped forward with a small smile.

"Brilliant," he whispered, holding the holey diary in his hands, "Of course, he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen… Very few people know, you see, that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle. I taught him myself, fifty years ago, at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving the school… traveled far and wide… sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort with the clever, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here."

But Mr. Weasley was looking furious as he turned to Ginny and shouted, "Haven't I taught you _anything?_ What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself _if you can't see where it keeps its brain?_ Why didn't you show the diary to me, or your mother? A suspicious object like that, it was _clearly_ full of Dark Magic –"

"I d-didn't know," Ginny sobbed, "I found it inside the books M-Mum got me. I th-thought someone had just left it in there and f-forgotten about it…"

"Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing right away," Dumbledore interrupted in a firm but gentle voice, "This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort," he walked over to the door and held it open, "Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I always find it cheers me up," he looked down at her kindly, "You will find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She's just giving out Mandrake juice – I daresay the basilisk's victims will be waking up any moment."

"So Hermione's okay!" Harry declared brightly.

"There was no lasting harm, Ginny," Dumbledore murmured.

The Weasleys all left together, a giant hoard, and Fred and George patted me kindly on the shoulder as they left. Dumbledore turned to McGonagall.

"You know, I think this merits a feast. Will you go alert the kitchens, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked. She nodded and swept out, also patting us all on the shoulder as she left.

"I do believe," Dumbledore paused, "That, despite the fact that you broke about a hundred different school rules in the process, your assistance in the end of the Heir of Slytherin's reign of terror deserves about two hundred points apiece for Gryffindor, and special awards for services to the school."

We all looked at each other in shock.

"Um," Neville paused, pulling off the hat and handing the sword and the hat to Dumbledore, "Here, this is yours I think –"

"Ah, that's where we disagree, Mr. Longbottom," Dumbledore smiled. Neville's eyes widened.

"You see, you remember your struggle with the Sorting Hat over your placement in Gryffindor – how you didn't think you were brave enough to be put there?" Dumbledore asked. Neville nodded weakly, avoiding the stares of both Harry and I.

"Well," Dumbledore smiled kindly, "You see, the Hat always tells me interesting things that happen during the sorting afterwards – told me all about how he was _completely convinced_ you belonged in Gryffindor. Well, I went down to the Wizarding Genealogy archives at the ministry soon after, because I had a hunch, you see."

"About what, sir?" Neville asked meekly.

"You, Neville, are as true a Gryffindor as anyone can be," Dumbledore smiled.

"Wh-What?" Neville asked.

"You are the last surviving Heir of Godric Gryffindor," Dumbledore stated. Harry's and my eyes widened in shock as we looked at him in amazement and Dumbledore continued, "And that sword belonged to your ancestor."

Neville looked down at the sword in shock, "But I _can't_ be –"

"You are," Dumbledore smiled, "Harry's the heir of someone else entirely, and Maggie as well, in fact. But that's a story for another day I think. The sword is yours."

Neville looked up, "Can you keep it for me? I… I'll probably lose it."

Dumbledore chuckled and nodded, "Now, I wish to speak to Harry alone, if you two don't mind. I'm sure you have much celebrating to do."

Neville and I nodded and left the room together, closing the door behind us as we walked through the corridors. I elbowed him in the side after a while and teased, "Hey, Gryffindor and Slytherin, matching up again, eh?"

"Oh shut it," Neville was beat red, "Don't tell _anyone_ about this, alright?"

"Alright, alright," I laughed. We looked at each other again and both began laughing hysterically as we entered the Great Hall together. We were the first ones there and there was no food yet, though Professor Snape was inside.

"Well," he stated calmly, looking down at us, "Still alive, are we?"

I decided to break all the personal relation boundaries and hugged him around the middle. Neville let out a squeak of shock as I pulled back and looked up at him.

"I'm very happy to be so, sir, so I felt that was necessary," I explained calmly. Professor Snape looked merely shocked and nodded and swept out of the hall.

"You're mental, you know that, right?" Neville sighed, "Completely mental."

"Oh I know," I beamed at him.

The feast started soon enough, and everyone but the three of us were in pajamas. Harry returned and explained in a quiet voice quite a few things about him, Voldemort, and how he was a true Gryffindor. He then explained that it had been Lucius Malfoy who planted the diary on Ginny, and how he managed to trick Malfoy into freeing Dobby, which I cheered for.

The party went on into the night. Hermione showed up early on, running forward and hugging Harry on sight, the two of them spinning around, then me, us jumping up and down, and then Neville rather calmly in comparison. Hagrid returned at half past three, hugging the four of us tightly and promising to replace my arrows that I had lost in the forest. Our six hundred points had secured the cup for Gryffindor and McGonagall cancelled all exams, leading to even more cheering throughout the Hall. Lockhart, who had lost his memory from the rebounded curse, was sacked, leading to my doing a backflip in the hall in celebration.

The rest of term passed in a haze – there were no exams, Lucius was sacked as a school governor, and Defense Against the Dark Arts was wonderfully canceled. Soon enough, we were on the train going back home, and Harry, Hermione, Neville, Fred, George, Ginny and I packed into a compartment together, playing exploding snap and eating lots of candy.

Harry suddenly looked up just as we were coming close to King Cross station and looked at Ginny, who was back to her completely normal and happy self.

"Ginny – what did you see Percy doing, that he didn't want you to see?" Everyone looked up then and curiously at the youngest member of our party.

"Oh, that," Ginny was giggling now, "Well, Percy's got a _girlfriend_."

Fred dropped a sack of books on George's head in shock.

"_What?_"

"It's that Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope Clearwater," Ginny continued, "He wrote to her all last summer. He's been meeting her up all over the school in secret. I walked in on them _kissing_ in an empty classroom one day. He was so upset when she was – you know – attacked. You won't teas him, will you?" she suddenly asked.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Fred declared, though he looked like Christmas had come early.

George looked at me out the corner of his eye and didn't say anything. I felt myself flush and I looked away from him, and Harry frowned at me in puzzlement. I flushed even more and looked determinedly as we pulled up into King's Cross.

"How mad do you reckon Aunt Melinda and Uncle Nathaniel are going to be?" Harry asked as we left the compartment.

I turned and grinned at him, "Oh, I'd say we're going to be grounded for our entire summer. But hey, it was worth it."

And with that, we walked off of the train and back to a quieter reality.

END OF BOOK TWO

AN: Well, that was amazingly long! Huzzah! Sorry for not updating yesterday, but I was busy with stuffs for my birthday after all. I got this really pretty Nexus 7 linked to my email so every time i get a review it tells me - be warned, people, I'll be sad until I get them xD I hope you all enjoyed the ending to CoS and how I changed it! JKR said a long time ago that Harry isn't the descendent of Gryffindor- so I decided that Neville must be! I'll try to get you guys the first chapter of PoA by tomorrow!

SHOUT OUT TIME! Thank you ALL for the LOVELY birthday wishes. NEWSFLASH: 20 feels NO DIFFERENT than 19. LE GASP. Anywho, thank you puncher71 and Kitten of Fire for following this story! Feel free to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Thank you to Viola Potterhead Girl, Cooky Crumbla, rangerhero, DreamCatcher1991, Ta-twinArmageddons, puncher71, and Edmond O'Donald for your lovely reviews! I'll respond to you as soon as I can, but I'm having my family birthday dinner tonight and I've been summoned to grate cheese. So, soon after that.

Thank you all and please review the new chapter!


	17. Ch 16: The Summer Holidays, 1993

Chapter Sixteen: The Summer Holidays, 1993, America and The Nest

Ever since I can remember, we've gone to visit my last pair of living grandparents in America every other summer. The only year we did not was the year before Harry and I went to Hogwarts for the first time, and I now knew that was because my parents wanted us to stay around to be introduced to their mates.

This summer, however, that wouldn't be necessary, and so two weeks after our second year ended we headed off on a muggle plane to America for a month and a half. We used to stay longer, but now that we had things to do in the last month before term started for school, and because we wanted to visit our mates, my parents cut down the visit time.

I hated plane rides and the one to America was the worst, taking forever, changing around my body clock, filled with boring people doing pretty boring things. Harry spent the whole plane ride sleeping, for the most part. Elena spent it specifically _not_ speaking to me, and thus driving me crazy. Her silent treatment with me had lasted now for over a year and it had officially crossed the Childish borderline.

We landed in Chicago's O'Hare airport, passed through customs, and drove up to Oak Park where my grandparents lived. Now Elena was sleeping in the backseat of the rented muggle car as Harry and I thumb wrestled during the short drive.

"Harry, I'm going to need to buy you new clothes," Melinda sighed, turning around in her seat in the front to look at us, "You've had another growth spurt…"

Harry beamed. His voice had also changed in the last two weeks from semi-squeaky to deep. It was disconcerting during the time because he would talk all low and then squeak higher than Elena and then speak low again.

"Sorry Aunt Melinda," he replied cheerfully, "Couldn't help it."

Mum rolled her eyes and looked at me carefully as well, "And you've grown, too, Maggie. Oh Merlin, what will your grandparents think…"

"You've got to stop being afraid of your in-laws, Melinda," my dad laughed in the driver's seat.

"I'm the woman who stole their only son," Mum responded, "They hate me, I just know it."

Dad chuckled again as we pulled off the highway.

"And we need to get you new bras, Maggie, it's time you wore ones made for adults and not the training ones –" Mum continued.

"_Mum!"_ I whined in embarrassment.

"Sweetheart, it's time you stop pretending this isn't happening, wear clothes that actually fit and accept this as the natural change your body must go through," mum sighed.

Harry was trying to contain his laughter next to me.

"You too, Harry. Don't think I don't know about the socks –" Mum was glaring.

Elena spit out her soda that she had been drinking and I looked at him in shock. His face had colored bright red and he was slowly, very slowly sinking into the car seat.

"Wh-What?" Harry whispered as he continued to fall lower.

"The _socks_. We _know_ what you've been using them for, one can't stop being stiff no matter how much I try and use magical cleaners –" Mum continued.

"Mum, _please_ stop talking," I begged, "Just, images I don't need and, just, _please_ stop."

"Alright, alright," Mum turned back to face the window as we approached our grandparents' house, "Just try not to do it while we're here."

Harry had managed to cover his eyes with his hair and had fallen on the car floor, his seatbelt completely off as a result. I looked up at the ceiling, trying really hard to not laugh.

We all piled out of the car, all three of us kids regaining our composure as we grabbed our bags and walked up to the front door. Our grandparents opened it, smiling down at us. My gran, who had had the same dark brown hair as me and Dad when she was young, now supported white whispy locks, wrinkly tanned skin and brown eyes, and was also very plump and short. She was half Cherokee and looked it with the long braid running down her back and the clothing she wore. Gramps was a lot taller than Gran, very pale and with hardly any wrinkles. He had had very blonde hair when he was young, which had now turned even whiter than Gran's hair, and he had bright blue eyes. He was very skinny as well.

"Hi Gran and Gramps!" all three of us shouted, though they weren't technically Harry's grandparents he had called them that since he was little, since it was just awkward to say Great Aunt and Uncle in Law.

"Hello kids," Gramps grinned at us, "Come on in, come on in." We all eagerly followed him in.

Their house had _always_ intrigued us; Gramps was an astronomer and the entire place was filled with magical stargazing instruments that sung like wind chimes and sparkled like stars. Gran was the head of the Transfiguration department at the Chicago Academy of Magical Arts, where my dad had gone to school. He explained that I had gotten my skill in the subject from her. But, due to her work, there were many animals running around the place, but also all the things she had transfigured them into over the years.

"Gran, can you do it? Please?" Elena asked immediately upon entering.

"Really, kids, you've just got here," Gran was smiling, however.

"_Please!_" we all shouted at once as my parents came in behind us.

Gran grinned broadly and walked forward, transforming as she did so, getting down on all forms and turning into a mountain lion. All three of us burst into applause as she opened her mouth and roared like a real mountain lion would. She then stepped forward again on her paws and transformed on the way up, turning back into Gran. The only way you could ever hope to tell the mountain lion was gran was because the lion had the pattern of her braid down her back, etched into her fur.

"Ta da!" Gran declared in sing-song voice as we applauded once again.

"Well, you should all go up into your rooms. They're the same as when you left," Gramps ordered with a smile. We all ran upstairs together to the two guest rooms in the three-bedroom house. Mum and Dad slept in the one with the large king bed, and we three slept in the one with the bunk bed and the twin bed across from them. The room was tiny and cramped with the three of us, but we made do every two years.

I took the top bunk, as always; Elena took the singleton twin bed; Harry took the bottom bunk. It was truly now routine at this point.

We then all ran together back to the kitchen and sat eagerly in the musty old family room, where a giant iguana crawled towards us. I was very glad I had remembered to bring Albus with all the family owls to mum's friends Gerald and Renee's house. The owls could fend for themselves but we wouldn't have been able to leave Albus behind. There was a small alligator in a cage and a giant toucan in another hanging cage. A small canary flew above our heads in a continuous circle.

"So!" Gran began, sitting across from us in her arm chair by the fire. There were two large armchairs on either side of the fire place, and then a couch directly across from it, and a loveseat on the side facing the window. There was a coffee table in the middle and the window was huge, giving us a perfect view of the two grazing emus outside. I had never wondered before why the neighbors didn't notice the emus, and I didn't wonder now – magical concealment was something I was used to at this point.

"How do you like Hogwarts, kids? Of course, we wanted your father to send you to the Academy, but of course that would have been out of the way and rather inconvenient on your parents," Gran continued.

"We love it," Harry and I answered in unison.

"That was a rather creepily delivered answer," Gramps chuckled as he took his own armchair.

"Well we do," Harry laughed, "It's absolutely brilliant."

"The castle is so old and beautiful, the forest and the grounds are so natural and wonderful, the professors are great for the most part, and there are a lot of really great kids, especially in our own House, Gryffindor," I expanded.

"Ah! And what is Gryffindor House again? I'm afraid I've forgotten," Gran smiled.

"The house of the brave and true!" Harry puffed up his chest in a teasing way as we both burst into giggles.

"Seriously though, we're known as the courageous house. And our symbol is a lion! Well, a male, African lion, but I still felt you'd appreciate it Gran," I beamed.

"That I do," Gran laughed, "What are you favorite subjects?"

We both frowned in concentration.

"I dunno, really," Harry paused, "I'd say Defense Against the Dark Arts if we'd had a decent teacher _once_ over these past two years, but we haven't… but the subject matter, if it were actually taught to us, is my favorite."

"Ah! Been doing some independent study then?" Gramps smiled kindly.

"Yeah," Harry grinned, "You could say that."

I snorted in amusement and Mum, who had just come to sit in the loveseat with Dad, gave me a look.

"But I guess besides that my favorite is Charms, though Maggie _hates_ it. And I love playing Quidditch and flying," Harry nodded.

"Good, good! Varied interests are always important," Gran nodded fervently, "And I'm sure a proper teacher in Defense Against the Dark Arts will only enhance your learning in that area."

"If they can find one," Harry shook his head sadly.

"And you, Margaret?" Gran asked with a smile. I hated that they refused to use my nickname.

"Transfiguration," I responded proudly, making Gran beam wider, "I'm best in the year, well, tied for it with our best mate, Hermione Granger. I love it, it's so much fun and it's so interesting. Besides that, I really like Herbology, and you could say I've been helping Harry in his independent research on Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"You have? Good! It's always good to have a study buddy," Gramps praised, "However, I _am_ disappointed you aren't mentioning Astronomy!"

"To be honest, we might be a little biased against it," I responded, "It's always late at night, so we're exhausted, and our professor doesn't really leave a lasting impression – it's rather boring, though both Harry and I do well in it."

"Well, that's good at least," Gramps sighed, "It's so sad, to hear it talked of as boring."

"I'm sure if you were the professor it would be very exciting and memorable," Harry beamed. Gramps smiled in response.

"Always the kind one, your adopted son," Gramps nodded at my parents, "I remember when we visited you the one and only time in Britain, for your wedding. We met your mother, Harry, but not your father, he wasn't really good friends with Melinda yet. Your mum was very, very kind. She never had a bad word to say to anyone, not to our son, not to us, not to her cousin, not even to that Snape fellow…"

"Snape?" I frowned, looking at Mum and Dad.

"Well, he came, didn't he? He was friends with your Mum, before she met Nathaniel," Gramps continued, "He even had been friends with your mum, Harry, but they had a falling out a little before the wedding. Sad, really. She was very polite, if in a forced way, to him but he was very standoffish to her. To be honest, he seemed very out of place during the whole affair…"

Harry looked shocked with this news and I could see from the look on Mum's face that she hadn't wanted him to know that, yet.

"Anyways, she was just one of the loveliest teenagers I'd ever met, and was very kind to us, being that we felt rather out of place. We were the only attendees of the wedding from your father's side, no one else wanted to travel to Britain when it was at war. But she was kind and made sure we were included. She looked _just_ like Melinda, they could have been twins," Gramps finished, "You are _so_ much like her in temperament, Harry."

"Thanks," Harry responded quietly, looking sincerely touched.

We continued to sit there making small talk for the rest of the evening, clearly avoiding mentioning the true nature of our Defense Against the Dark Arts 'studies' to the grandparents. I suppose Mum and Dad didn't want them to worry about how we were the self-dubbed problem solvers at Hogwarts.

The month and a half in America went by slowly. Harry and I enjoyed exploring the many-layered basement of Gramps and Gran, with all of its different contraptions, bits and do-dads. Occasionally we would go in a giant party, all dressed in muggle clothes, to explore the nearby city of Chicago with its endlessly tall buildings and many secret wizarding alleyways. Once, we went to the muggle Field Museum and explored the dinosaur exhibit. Behind the prehistoric life exhibit lay a magical exhibit, hidden from the public eye and run completely by wizards, featuring the natural history of magical creatures – the evolution of dragons from dinosaurs, of unicorns and centaurs and mermaids and werewolves and everything else. There were so many fascinating magical skeletons in there and we stayed until closing time, simply enraptured.

We received letters from Hermione, Neville, Fred, George, Ginny, and Hagrid, all asking when we would be back, discussing their own summers and everything else. Hermione had taken a trip to France with her parents for the time we were in America, the Weasleys had won enough gold to go and visit the oldest brother, Bill, in Egypt for that same time, and Neville had managed to persuade his Gran to take him down to Australia, to examine magical plants and visit some relatives down there, as a reward for his bravery in the Chamber of Secrets at the end of last term.

_She was so impressed with me, Maggie_, Neville wrote in his letter explaining this turn of events, _I don't think she's ever been really proud of me before then. So I asked her if we could visit my second cousins in Australia, she mentions them all the time, as a reward and she finally said yes! I'm really excited and if I have a tan when we get back, I hope you can recognize me! _

So we all, in one way or another, went abroad that summer, which was quite funny as none of us had done so in the last one. Ginny wrote all about Egypt and how much she enjoyed it, which was good, because Fred and George didn't really mention any of the cultural stuff, but the many, many, _many_ pranks they pulled on Ron and Percy in the tombs. As much fun as it was to read these anecdotes, I _was_ curious about what Egypt was like.

All of us managed to agree through our letter communications to meet up and stay together at the Leaky Cauldron the last week before term started; The Weasleys had enough gold left over from their lottery winnings to do so, Neville's Gran and Hermione's parents were happy to partake in the reunion, and my parents were obviously OK with it and Harry even volunteered some of his own gold to pay for it. It would be a rather extravagant week, staying in an Inn and basically booking out a floor, but we were all fairly excited for it.

Midway through the month and a half in America, I had developed a slight tan, as had Elena. Harry, who was unfortunately pure British and thus had skin immune to pigmentation, simply burned.

Around this time, Gran sat me down for another chat.

"So, Margaret, have you thought about what you want to do with your life?" Gran asked with a small twinkle in her eye.

"Well, erm, no, seeing as I am only thirteen," I mumbled.

"Right, right," Gran paused, "I was just talking to you because I think you could have a real career as a leader in Transfiguration research, or as a Transfiguration teacher like me."

"Really?" I breathed.

"Yes," Gran nodded, "Your mom and dad have told me your grades in Transfiguration and they aren't simply the best in your year, they're amongst the best in the world. You have a bright future in my field, dear."

"Really?" I breathed again.

Gran laughed this time and nodded once again, "Really. You don't have to, of course, you don't even have to become an Animagus, I simply just-"

"Animagus?" I asked in confusion.

"Oh, right," Gran sighed, "Forgot you were only going into the third year! You'll learn more about them this year, but that's what I am – a person who can change into an animal at will. I do believe your own Transfiguration Professor, Minerva McGonagall, turns into a cat."

"Oh, right," I answered, "Well, I dunno about the rest of my life planning and stuff – I want to weigh all my options and everything – but, I would like to be able to do that, yeah."

Gran beamed, "I'm sure you'll be able to succeed, dear."

The end of our visit lay with Harry's birthday, which turned into a real celebration as presents were flown in by our friends' owls, a large cake was baked by Gramps, and there were many cool magical shows done by Gran and Gramps with their many instruments. By the time the affair was over, we were all stuffed right to the gills, and I felt like I was about to enter a food coma or something similar.

As Elena went to bed and we followed her up the stairs, we heard the adults begin to talk in hushed whispers downstairs. Harry and I looked at each other and, true to form, snuck back down the stairs and stood there at the edge of them.

"Well? What are you going to do?" Gramps asked softly.

"There isn't much we _can _do, dad," Mum sighed, "We can't pull him out of school –"

"It's dangerous for him to be anywhere in Britain but the safety of his home! Home school him, just until the danger has passed," Gramps insisted.

"We _can't_, we both have work, Nathaniel only stays at home to make sure Elena doesn't blow up the house, he's not actually doing active parenting," Mum insisted.

"I don't like it," Gran sighed, "I don't like the idea of that _man_ going after my family, my only grandchildren, even the adopted one. I want them safe, and they'll only be safe if they stay somewhere that man can't find them."

"Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain. It's _safer_ than our house. Dumbledore is there, and…" I heard my dad continue.

"Safer than under the care and protection of the people who love him?" Gramps demanded.

"He has that there, too. You'd be surprised at Maggie's audacity," Mum sighed.

"I don't think I'd be surprised, but is she _capable_?" Gran continued.

"You'd actually be surprised at how much she really is," Mum responded firmly, "And please, don't ask me to go into details I'm trying to spare you from."

Gran harrumphed fairly audibly. Harry and I looked at each other in shock.

"I think you need to honor the Minister's request, though, Melinda, and that's just my opinion as a parent," Gramps continued.

"I know I do, he really gave me no choice in the way he worded it to begin with and secondly I know I have to for his safety. The problem is, I'll have to basically punish Maggie, too," Mum sighed.

"Why?" Gran asked.

"I can't not sign _his_ form to Hogsmeade but sign _hers!_ That's horrifically unfair, especially when _she's_ the more reckless one and we're trying to keep this from them. I'd either have to tell them or admit to there being no reason behind the favoritism. I have to forbid them both from it," Mum admitted sadly.

I looked at Harry in anger and his expression mirrored my own.

"Well, as much as it saddens me to say so, she must be forbidden too, you're absolutely right. Those poor children. A murder on the loose and they're too young to understand it," Gramps sighed.

"I wouldn't say they wouldn't understand it… to be honest I'm trying to save whatever speck of innocence those two might have left," Mum explained.

"What could they possibly have –"

"It's our choice to not divulge that information, Mom, and I really wish you'd stop asking," Dad insisted in a firm voice.

There was a long an awkward silence.

"Well, we'd all better get to bed. Your flight leaves tomorrow," Gramps finally said. Harry and I scurried quietly back to our room, closing the door behind us.

"We can't go to _Hogsmeade_?" I whispered in anger, "There'd better be a good explanation for it!"

"Evidently, a murderer is on the loose. Though I don't know why that means we'll be in particular danger in Hogsmeade," Harry sighed.

"Maybe he's after _you_? I mean, Voldy Pants had followers. You probably pissed people off when you defeated him," I suggested.

"That seems like as good an explanation as anything," Harry paused, "I wonder who it is?"

"Neville, or the twins, or Ginny, or Hermione would know," I responded firmly, "And they wouldn't bother keeping it from us."

Harry nodded in agreement and we both went off to bed.

We flew back to Scotland and spent the next two weeks relaxing at the Nest, eagerly awaiting our week at Diagon Alley. Mum pulled us aside the day of departure and explained what we had overheard.

"Kids, I didn't want to tell you this, but upon further reflection I realize I have no choice. You'll hear about it at school, you'll ask your friends, you'll know it regardless of how much I try to hide it from you," Mum resigned softly, "I cannot sign your permission forms to go to Hogsmeade this year. It is no fault of your own and I'm really sorry, but I can't let you go."

"Alright," Harry and I said in unison, "Explain."

Mum looked taken aback for a moment before continuing, "You heard us talking to the grandparents, didn't you?"

We nodded, also in unison.

"Ah well," Mum paused, "There is a man, who has escaped from the wizard prison, Azkaban. I'm sure you've heard of it."

We nodded again.

"He's extremely dangerous – first off, he's the first person to ever escape from Azkaban in all of history. Second of, he was one of You-Know-Who's top followers, the lead follower I'd say, based on what we know. And, third off, he's after you, Harry – or so we strongly suspect at the Ministry. He lost everything when You Know Who was defeated and he, more likely than not, believes that killing you will help bring You Know Who back to power," Mum explained calmly.

I felt my eyes narrow in distaste, "What is his name?"

"Black. Sirius Black," Mum said in a very disgusted voice.

"Did you know him?" Harry asked, curious at the particular loathing in her voice.

"Well, I thought I did," Mum sneered, and suddenly she seemed like an actual Slytherin, rather than a sheep in wolf's clothing, "I wasn't particularly fond of him, but y- I knew people who were, who trusted him, who thought he was on our side. To be honest, based on what I knew of him… I didn't actually think he was a dark wizard. I never suspected it. And, being from Slytherin, I'm usually good at recognizing these things. But all the evidence now points to that he was a cold-blooded traitor to our side and a killer, and the fact that he escaped drives me to a fury I haven't felt in a while, to be honest, kids."

Harry and I nodded calmly together.

"Please don't ask further questions than that, and… well, Harry, promise me something. You too, Maggie, now that I really think about it," Mum continued.

"Sure, mum," I answered calmly.

"No matter what you two might hear about him… Please, please, _please_ don't go _looking_ for Black," Mum paused, "He's very dangerous and I know you've handled a lot of dangerous stuff – dragons, spiders and basilisks, for the love of Merlin – but this is on a different scale, and I want you two to actually be careful and stay incognito as much as possible."

"Why would I go looking for someone who wants to kill me?" Harry responded in a very calm voice.

"The kid's got a point. And why would I go deliberately into danger unless it's to save my friends?" I continued.

"That's… what I'm afraid of. But I have your word?" Mum demanded.

"Yes, Mum," I said at the same time Harry said, "Yes, Aunt Melinda."

"Good," Mum paused, "Now, pack your things for school. We'll be leaving for Diagon Alley soon."

We had two rooms at the Leaky Cauldron, one for us kids, one for the parents. We were the first of our large party to arrive, Harry sleeping on the muggle futon in the room and me and Elena sleeping on the twin beds.

The Weasleys arrived second, and I wasn't entirely sure how many rooms they got at first, but soon enough I figured it out – one for the parents and Ginny, one for Percy and Ron, one for the twins. It used the last of their winnings. The Grangers arrived third, simply taking two rooms, and Ginny eagerly shared with Hermione rather than sleeping on a futon in her parents' room. Finally, the Longbottoms came, using only one room with two twin beds.

The reunions were brilliant. The twins and Ginny eagerly came down, Ron and Percy not as enthused to see us (we really hadn't talked to Ron much at all during the year and I believe he was rather irritated we didn't include him in on our adventures.) Ginny hugged me immediately and awkwardly shook hands with Harry, the twins picking me up off the floor together and spinning me around in a very large circle, as the diameter of the shape had all three of us.

"Good to see you, Maggie!" Fred cheered.

"Indeed, it's rather quiet without you around all the time!" George agreed.

"We were rather hoping to bring you back a mummy, but _our_ own Mummy wasn't too pleased with _that_ little gift idea," Fred sighed.

"So we'll give you our present on your birthday, and we know you'll like it almost as much," George finished with a beam of a smile.

"Excellent," I laughed, "Thanks gents."

"Any time, good lady," Fred bowed with a fake posh accent.

"Really, it is _truly_ our pleasure," George furthered. I giggled in response at their silliness.

When the Grangers arrived, I immediately hugged Hermione excitedly, laughing in unison along with her.

"No one's getting petrified this year, I've decreed it," I said at the top of my lungs to Hermione's amusement.

"Aren't you excited for Arithmancy? And Ancient Runes? They just look _fascinating_, it must be so much fun," Hermione beamed.

"We can get our books later, I'm really excited too of course," I laughed, "And for Care of Magical Creatures, that should be _loads_ of fun."

"Have you heard of the book, though?" Hermione frowned, "I looked at the list – _Monster Book of Monsters_, never heard of that before…"

"Harry got it from Hagrid for his birthday," I shuddered, "The thing's alive, Hermione, it bites you and attacks you and I had to hold it down while Harry tied his belt around it."

"Oh dear. Did Hagrid know you'd be needing it, Harry? Seems a rather unfortunate birthday present," Hermione frowned.

"Oh, well, I dunno," Harry looked embarrassed. I realized then he had been staring at us – well, at Hermione – during the duration of our conversation.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Harry, I got distracted by Maggie," Hermione beamed, obviously unaware of this, and hugged Harry tightly. I could see Harry's face and his cheeks had flushed with color, "How are you doing? I've missed you – I've missed you both – I can't wait for the new term!"

"I've missed you too," Harry answered, swallowing and straightening up, "You look tan."

"Well, France does that," Hermione frowned, "Shouldn't you be, too?"

"I have too much paleness in my skin, I can't evidently," Harry scowled, "You're… erm… taller, too."

"Yes," Hermione beamed, "I think we all are."

Harry's eyes flickered away from Hermione's face (and I totally saw where he was looking) for a moment and then back. I felt myself grinning. Hermione had, needless to say, also received the twin devils herself and Harry was clearly noticing the general new curvature of Hermione's body. I wondered if she would be gracing his thoughts during sock time later, then immediately regretted this thought process as it lead to mental vomiting.

"Well, we should wait for Neville before we go on adventures, and gather the Weasleys – we shall take over the Alley, I say!" I shouted triumphantly, distracting Harry and Hermione from the awkward pause that had just ensued.

When Neville entered, he was also tan – so only Harry was left out of that particular little party, well, Harry and the Weasleys (who, being ginger, couldn't tan for the life of them.) Neville was a lot taller as well, and skinnier – his baby fat was gone from his face and his stomach and he just sort of looked awkwardly lean, now. He and Harry had both grown out their hair and his was shaggy around his face rather than messy and sticking up everywhere.

"Hi Maggie!" he greeted cheerfully. I was amazed at how deep his voice was compared to when I had last seen him, "How are you?"

"U-Um," I was rather distracted by the changes and I was having momentary trouble talking like a normal human being, "Great! And you?"

"Great," he was smiling in a strange way and it made me both curious and confused.

"How was Australia? Did you go on a magical plant safari?" I continued in my usual cheerful voice.

"Of course," Neville laughed, "I've got some specimens to show you in my room later –"

_In… his room…_

Why did that thought make me feel suddenly uncomfortable?

"– And I'd love to hear all about America, too. And I do believe you've forgotten something," Neville was still chuckling.

"What?" I asked as I thought _it was those Butterbeers you had earlier, it makes you think crazy things, like that you **like** George and such nonsense. _

"Well, the welcome hug, I expect," Neville was laughing.

"Oh!" I gasped, "Sorry!" I was stretched out a lot to hug him – he had _really _grown, he was really _very_ tall indeed, taller than Harry – and I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. I think we held on too long because someone – Harry – let out a little cough and I pulled away, trying really really hard to not blush.

"Good to see you, mate," Harry grinned, clasping Neville's hand in his own. Neville was a good half a foot taller than him!

"It's great to see you again, Neville," Hermione beamed, hugging him like I had but looser and for a lot less time.

"Let's find the Weasleys and go out to get our books and things," Harry suggested. We all nodded, found the Weasley conglomeration, and headed out in a giant pack of Gryffindor awesomeness.

Percy had been made Head Boy, and was acting very pompous to boot as he shook Harry's hand and simply nodded politely at the rest of us. Fred, George and I immediately began making fun of him properly behind his back as he lead us past the shops.

Ron was walking with Harry, catching up, though his tone wasn't nearly as amiable as it usually was as he explained how his rat, Scabbers, hadn't been feeling well since Egypt, and he needed to get him a rat tonic at Magical Menagerie.

"Well, we're off to Quality Quidditch Supplies," Fred began.

"We would really _love_ to help you buy all the schoolbooks you'll be needing," George continued.

"But this is a wee bit more important, as I've had to remind my brother," Fred finished in a rather irritated voice, glaring at George out of the corner of eye. George was specifically not meeting Fred's eye, or anyone's really; he was staring off at the shop signs. Ron had already walked off to go get Scabbers checked out for the tonic.

"I shall help Ginny with her wand, since her first one was broken in the Chamber of Secrets," Percy declared, "All you third years should go get your books together now."

We nodded and the four of us entered Flourish and Blotts together.

The manager of the bookstore immediately came up to us, saying hurriedly, "Hogwarts? Come to get your new books?"

I noticed that there was a giant cage out front filled to the brim with _The Monster Book of Monsters_, all biting with pages flying as they tried to get out of the cage, growling angrily.

"Um, only three of us need that one," Hermione murmured softly, pointing at the cage, looking extremely apologetic. The manager sighed.

"At least it's not four. Alright, you all should get something you can tie it up with," the manager ordered.

Neville took off his belt, Hermione took the ribbon from her hair, and I pulled out my hair tie, causing my large amount of hair to spread across my back and down to the small of it, simply that huge. It felt like a rug on the back of my neck. We all stood at the ready as Harry backed up a considerable distance.

The manager then dug his hand in, which he had put what looked like the plated armor of a knight over. He pulled out the first one and tossed it at Neville. It began biting and attacking him furiously and he fell to the ground in fight, wrestling with it to put the belt on it. I dove on my knees to help him, holding the thing down by its binding as Neville hastily wrapped the belt around it and tightened it.

"Alright, next one," the manager declared and threw another one at Hermione. I turned around as she held it out at arm's length, also struggling, and held it closed as she tied her ribbon around it tightly, managing to hold the things hut.

"Last one," the manager announced abruptly and I wasn't ready. The thing managed to attack me full on, biting my sweatshirt and ripping it to shreads as I shouted in protest. Neville and Hermione managed to grab it, but it was already too late for the garment as I pulled my hair tie around it.

"Good thing my hair's so big my hair ties are big too," I grumbled irritably.

"That book is a nightmare!" Hermione moaned.

"Your sweatshirt's completely ruined, Maggie," Neville frowned. I was only wearing a cami and a bra underneath and I felt very exposed as I pulled off the ripped up sweatshirt and dumped it in a trashcan. Unlike all my other muggle clothes, the cami was skin-tight, revealing the fact that I had curves my mother called "much too developed for a thirteen year old" and the twin devils, which had grown to a fairly large muggle size (36D, much to my eternal, eternal chagrin.) I flushed with embarrassment and tried to pull the cami up more.

"We can go back and get you something to wear," Hermione offered, "But we should finish shopping here, first."

"Alright," I mumbled. Harry was laughing at me and Neville wasn't looking at me, staring in rather extreme interest at a pile of books.

"Shut up Harry," I groaned, "This is bad enough without you making me want to die even more."

Harry continued laughing and Neville was very specifically _not_ looking at me, I could clearly tell. His face, I could see from this angle, was oddly flushed.

_What's all _that_ about,_ I thought in annoyance.

"Alright," Hermione announced, "We still need _Intermediate Transfiguration_, which I think you already have, Maggie –"

"Yeah, my mum and dad got it for me a year ago," I nodded, still pulling my cami up as high as it would go.

"Then we need _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3_, all of us," Hermione continued, "Then Harry, you and I need _Unfogging the Future_, we can go get that in a minute, and Maggie, you me and Neville need _Numerology and Gramatica_, and Maggie, you and I need _Ancient Runes Made Easy _and, oh my, _four_ different Rune dictionaries – we should go get the spells book first –"

We all headed through the bookshop, purchasing the book for Charms, Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes. The Rune dictionaries were enormous and littered with Anglo Saxon, Egyptian, and Nordic symbols. The Arithmancy book already looked fascinating. We all left the shop and ran into Fred and George, who looked at my appearance in shock.

"Behold!" George shouted, "Everyone! Near and far!"

"Shut _up_," I hissed.

"Maggie Johnson, the great Tomboy, has _curves!_" George continued.

"I will _kill you!_" I snarled. Fred was laughing next to George, but unlike the last time this teasing occurred, it wasn't nearly as mirthful. In fact, there was something disapproving in Fred's eyes.

"She tries to hide them, but they will not be covered! They must be revealed to the world in their finest glory!" George declared.

"A brutal _murder!_" I growled.

"Seriously though, Maggie, you've got to stop dressing like you're trying to hide that your fat or something," George shook his head sadly, "You're clearly not, and to be honest, you look very nice."

"O-Oh?" I whispered.

"Yeah," George continued, his voice sounding rather academic about the subject, "Girls would kill for that, you know, the _twin devils_, as you call them. And that shape as well. And your hair is very pretty, you should wear it down more."

I felt myself turn beat red as I mumbled a thank you. I felt steam come out of my ears or something similar and I wanted to sink to the floor.

"Anywho, we've got to get our books," Fred said forcefully, "See you lot later."

_George said I was pretty_.

My heart was pounding in my ears and I looked down at myself. Maybe… maybe the curves and the twin devils and everything wasn't so bad. Maybe it was good I had hips and breasts and a – a –a – a _womanly_ shape. I mean… George was older than me, much older, a year and a half, and if he wanted a _woman_… or someone _older_ who would have this, well, then, it was an advantage and…

_But wait, why would you need an advantage with George? It's not like you like him_, a little voice said in the back of my head.

But then I realized that I had been fooling myself on two fronts. One, that I could hide myself forever, and two, that I could run from my – my – my… _crush_… on George forever. Both were clear and obvious facts.

I liked George, and it was time to accept that. I had liked him since the Butterbeer incident. And George wanted me to give up the hiding game, the avoiding-the-inevitable-game. I looked down at myself again as we walked into the Leaky Cauldron to drop off our textbooks and I ran upstairs to put on the smallest garment I owned, a t-shirt that was only slightly loose.

_George said I was pretty_.

A giggle followed out of my mouth and I immediately covered it with my hands. It had sounded strange, different than the other laughs and giggles I had let out before – rather… well, stupid.

_Not doing that one again_, I thought determinedly. But I still couldn't help dance around at the thought that George thought I was pretty.

I walked past my parents' room to get back to the others and saw my mum was inside, so I stuck my head in.

"Mum, you're right," I announced. She looked up at me in shock.

"About -?" she asked.

"I need clothes that actually fit. We can do that tomorrow. And I'll wear the real bras, I promise," I declared, "I'm wearing one now, but I mean I'll do it without complaint. And maybe some… cooler ones? Thanks!"

"Wait, wait, wait," she called out as I turned to walk way. I turned around and faced her again sheepishly.

"Alright, what brought on the request for tighter clothing and cool underwear?" Mum asked sternly, "And what happened to your sweatshirt?"

"The monster book of monsters ripped it up," I answered calmly.

Mum looked at me in amazement before shaking her head wordlessly, "And the first question?"

I flushed red again.

She looked at me carefully before saying, "Do you have a crush?"

"Wh-what?" I gasped.

"Well, I figured the day you gave up your stubborn idea you could hide the fact you're growing would be the day you no longer would want to hide it. You would no longer want to hide it when there was someone out there you would possibly want to attract with your new features. You would want to attract someone with your new features when you liked someone. You would like someone when you admitted to yourself that you were capable of romantic feelings. So, you have a crush," Mum explained. I scowled at how easily she had pinned me.

"Fine, I do. And I'm not telling," I responded firmly.

"I wasn't going to ask you to," Mum paused, "We'll go shopping tomorrow. But I'm afraid exciting underwear is something I refuse to help you with."

"Fair enough," and I ran back downstairs to the other three, who had hopefully not heard any of that. They didn't act like they had, anyways.

We headed down the street and Hermione commented, "You know, I've always wanted an owl. I can't just wait for Hedwig or Darwin to show up, after all."

"Let's go to the Menagerie, then," I suggested. We stepped inside, surrounded on all sides by loud and messy animals. As Hermione browsed the owls on the wall, a giant orange blob suddenly descended from the rafters.

"NO, CROOKSHANKS, NO!" the witch behind the counter shouted. We all turned to see a giant orange cat hissing at a rat on the counter – Ron's rat, Scabbers.

"Alright, I'm back, I just – oh, hello everyone – and what is that cat doing with my pet?" Ron walked in at exactly that moment and reflexively grabbed Scabbers from the counter.

"I just went out to get some extra gold and this is what I find! A cat attacking my pet!" Ron roared at the now frightened looking witch.

"It's not her fault, the thing came out of nowhere –" Harry defended.

"Alright, I'll take my tonic and go," Ron slammed some Galleons on the counter and ran out of there before the cat could pounce again.

Harry looked in sadness and followed Ron out of there. Neville and I quickly did the same, leaving Hermione inside to get her owl.

But when she reappeared, she was holding the giant orange cat.

"Isn't he _gorgeous_?" Hermione gushed, holding the ball of fluff close to her. Harry looked at her in shock and Neville and I both burst into laughter.

"Leave it to Hermione to buy the murder-cat," I chortled.

"He is _not_ a murder cat!" Hermione responded defensively.

"Oh, I'm sure he's not, he just attacked us all rather brutally," Neville chuckled.

"He did _not_ attack us! He hissed at a rat, a very cat-like thing to do!" Hermione snapped.

"That's true," I sighed, "Sorry, Hermione, I just found that very funny.

Ron, however, was glaring.

"Don't let that thing get _anywhere near_ my rat, you understand Granger?" Ron snapped.

Hermione's eyes narrowed.

"Of course, Weasley. I'm sure it'll be very easy, as _I_ don't wish to be anywhere near _you_," she replied snappishly, walking off in a blur of orange cat hair and brown human hair.

"Erm…" I paused, feeling supremely awkward.

"Well then," Neville continued, sharing my sentiment.

"We'll catch you later, Rom, then," Harry declared and we all immediately followed Hermione. Neville and I reassured her that Ron was a big prat, but Harry stayed silent on the matter.

We spent the rest of the week exploring the Alley and the shops, talking amiably, Hermione grooming and fawning over her cat. I went shopping with my mother eagerly, buying all sorts of new clothes – jean skirts and shorts and pants that actually stayed up on their own, shirts that had v-necks and buttons and curves in their general design, sweaters and sweatshirts that hugged me rather than hung on me, knee-high leather boots and converse sneakers instead of my old athletic trainers, lots of scarves, and lots of fingerless gloves that went up to my elbows and tights with patterns in them. I also, when my mum wasn't looking, managed to purchase what she had dubbed 'exciting underwear,' and hid it in my trunk when no one was looking.

The night before we were to get on the train, Harry and I were trying to talk to Elena, who had spent the bulk of the trip hiding in the room and not socializing with any of us or our friends. I had just come back from Neville's room, where I had just seen all of his Australian plants (with _no_ awkwardness on my part, thank you very much) and Elena was refusing to acknowledge our presence, once again.

We heard voices from our parents' room next door and Harry and I, knowing a lost cause when we saw one, motioned for Harry to follow me quietly to the door. We crouched outside it and listened.

"I'm just saying, Melinda – we can't just let this happened," Dad sighed.

"What are we going to do? Send patronuses to Hogwarts every day? Eventually people will ask who has an orca patronus and an eagle patronus, and figure out it is us," Mum retorted.

"But – _dementors_, at _Hogwarts_, with our _kids_ there, I hate that idea, I just hate it –"

"First off, you called Harry your child without realizing it, which you never do, secon-"

"Right now he's my child," Dad retorted, "He's in trouble, I've raised him, and I don't want to see him hurt.

"Good, then we're on the same page," Mum paused, "But you _know_ there's nothing we can do. Fudge ordered them to stay at Hogwarts until Black is caught _because_ Black is hunting Harry."

"You _know_ Harry won't react well to them! Remember when he was little? _All_ the nightmares he got _all_ the time? It was horrible – he wouldn't stop dreaming about it –"

"I know, but what else can we do? _Dumbledore_ can't even stop it," Mum sighed.

"It's crazy, mental, _insane_. Hogwarts is a happy place and they're just going to suck that right out of it, literally!" Dad shouted.

"You're going to wake the kids and all the other families, Nathaniel. Remus is going to be at the school this year, he sent me a letter. I'm asking him to protect Harry for us," Mum murmured.

"Well," Dad sighed, "There's that, at least."

Harry and I looked at each other nervously as we crept back to the room.

"Whatever a dementor is," Harry paused, "I'm not sure I'm gonna like it."

"Well, we knew a quiet year at Hogwarts was out of our reach," I shook my head, "I should never be surprised by my life anymore."

Harry clapped me on the shoulder, "Let's just stick to our studies and don't go solving a mystery, eh?"

We looked at each other for all of two minutes before bursting into laughter at the ridiculousness of that idea. Like _we_ could stay out of trouble.

AN: Sorry for the fairly growing-pains filled chapter. I always found it rather odd that no one made any mention of the fact that all of the main characters seemed to go through major puberty between movies 2 and 3. JKR's method of mentioning these things was always by saying Harry and Ron were 'taller' and 'needed new robes,' however she was writing for a children's audience. I have specifically labeled this Teen so that I can include all the stuff she avoided, which means this rather (in my eyes) funny chapter.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter at any rate! It was fun to write as I did very, very little quoting at all. And I wrote it rather quickly because I wanted to get back to playing with my Nexus... heehee. It's so pretty. Turns out my drawing skills are worse on a tablet than on paper, but I'm going to start practicing I swear.

Shout out time! Thank you to my new followers/favoriters, daydreamer727, hectorav, and magical fan18. I'm glad you all enjoyed the story to favorite and follow it! And brave the storm of all the words and chapters already present, haha. And, as always, thank you to my lovely reviewers: DreamCatcher1991, Edmond O'Donald, hectorav, Cooky Crumbla, magical fan18, and rangerhero. I'm glad you all enjoyed the chapter enough to review and I hope you'll grace me with reviews again for this one! I'll be replying to your reviews shortly.

Thank you all for accompanying me on this long and winding journey, and I hope you leave me a review for the latest installment!


	18. Ch 17: September 1 – September 3, 1993

Chapter Seventeen: September 1 – September 3, 1993, Hogwarts

Harry, Hermione, Neville and I spent ages trying to find a compartment. Ginny was sitting with some of her second year friends, which included Colin Creevey (who immediately cheered and thanked Harry for saving him,) some Hufflepuffs from her year, and a Ravenclaw girl with long curly blonde hair and a rather vapid expression, though I had a funny feeling it wasn't due to unintelligence but a lack of _wanting_ to pay attention to her surroundings. The twins were causing general mayhem with Lee Jordan and Hermione didn't feel like being a part of that. Ron, Dean, Seamus, and Siobhan were all in a compartment and Ron clearly didn't want Hermione and Crookshanks in there with him. To be honest, I was confused why Siobhan had joined them; she was a quiet girl who I didn't know very well and never really socialized with any of the other Gryffindors, except I'd see her talking occasionally to Ginny or to the Twins.

We finally found a compartment with one other occupant, whom I recognized immediately.

"Harry!" I hissed, "It's Mr. Lupin, Mum and Dad's friend!"

Harry's eyes widened as he looked upon the disheveled and sleeping man.

"What d'you reckon he's here for?" Harry asked.

"Well, as his case says Professor R. J. Lupin, I imagine he's our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Hermione reasoned, "C'mon, there's still room in the compartment for us.

Barely. Harry was squished against the window, Hermione against the compartment door, and I was smooshed in between them. Neville was awkwardly also smashed up agains the compartment door, trying to put as much space in between Lupin's feet and him as possible.

"Well," Harry whispered, "This is clearly a solution."

We all looked at each other and tried our hardest to not giggle too loudly.

"I have something to tell you two," Harry suddenly murmured, "Not _you_, Maggie, you already know, I mean you, Hermione, and you, Neville," he clarified and began talking about how Black was after him, and how Mum didn't want him to go looking for him.

"Sirius Black escaped to come after _you_?" Hermione gasped in terror, "Oh, Harry… you'll have to be really, really careful. Don't go _looking_ for trouble, Harry –"

"I don't go looking for trouble," Harry shook his head in bemusement, "Trouble usually finds _me_."

"Harry's smart, he won't go looking for a man who wants to murder him," Neville interjected.

But both Neville and Hermione look rather shaken up at the news, more so than I think Harry had been expecting, more so than I had been. Which, upon futher reflection, I realized was rather stupid of me – I hadn't really realized the full extent of what _a murderer on the loose, looking for Harry_ meant. But I couldn't panic now; Harry thought I was OK. So I didn't show my newfound shock to the others.

"No one knows how he got out of Azkaban," Neville continued, looking very scared still, "It's just never been done before – and he was a top-security prisoner, Gran says."

"But, they'll catch him, won't they?" Hermione begged earnestly, "I mean, they've got all the muggles looking out for him, too, I saw it on the news before we left for France…"

"It can't take very long, if they've really got everyone looking out for him, unless he can change his appearance or something like that," Neville sighed, "But there isn't any safer place for you than Hogwarts, Harry, well at least in theory."

"I wouldn't say the last two years really support the theory," I shook my head sadly.

"At the same time, this is a threat the professors are rather aware of, I'm sure they'll be on the lookout," Neville responded firmly, "This isn't like You-Know-Who's returned to Hogwarts on the back of a head or inside of a diary or something."

"It isn't even You-Know-Who, just his lead follower," Hermione nodded, "Which… is still _bad_, but at least it's a… change, I suppose."

"And the professors will definitely be watching you all the time at school," Neville agreed.

"And in Hogsmeade we can make a nice little bodyguard formation for you," Hermione smiled.

"Are you two excited about it as I am? I've heard so much about it from Gran and from others. Of course, you've already been once, though we have no idea how, Maggie. But it should still be great, I can't wait to go to Honeydukes, or Zonko's, or the Three Broomsticks –" Neville began gushing excitedly.

"Do you know much about it? I heard it's the only entirely non-Muggle settlement in Britain!" Hermione gasped.

"I suppose it is," Neville nodded, "Though I don't know many people who live there."

"I think it would just be _fascinating_ to!" Hermione whispered, realizing that Professor Lupin was still asleep, "It's a very interesting place, isn't it? In _Sites of Historical Sorcery_ it says the inn was the headquarters for the 1612 goblin rebellion, and the Shrieking Shack's supposed to be the most severely haunted building in Britain…"

"Yeah, I don't fancy visiting there, I mean, I've gotten enough excitement from the adventures I don't choose, but there are so many shops to visit it should be fine – there's an entire exotic plants greenhouse at the end of the street, I heard," Neville nodded.

Hermione turned to us, "Won't it be nice to get out of school for a bit and explore Hogsmeade?"

"S'ppose," I sighed.

"I expect it will, but you'll have to tell us when you've found out," Harry replied in a heavy voice.

"Why?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"We can't go, the Ministry asked mum to not let Harry go and she didn't feel it would be fair if I could go and he couldn't," I responded calmly.

"_You're not allowed to come_?" Neville gasped.

"The Ministry doesn't think it's safe for me in Hogsmeade with Black and all," Harry grumbled.

"But – _we'd_ be there – and I mean, we could protect Harry –" Neville protested.

"Oh please, Neville, be reasonable," Hermione snapped, "Black's already murdered a whole bunch of people in the middle of a crowded street. Do you really think he's going to worry about attacking Harry just because _we're_ there?"

"She has a point," I sighed.

"It was really hard to argue with Aunt Melinda when she explained this. She had a point about us staying safe," Harry agreed.

"Well this is sad," Hermione frowned, "I was really looking forward to going to Hogsmeade with you two."

"Yeah, I wanted to explore with you, Maggie," Neville sighed.

"And Hermione," I offered. Neville opened his mouth, his face oddly flushed, when Lupin stirred. We all watched him anxiously as he rolled over and let out a loud snore.

The trolley came by, but we still didn't wake up Lupin, not wanting to disturb what looked like a very relaxing sleep. We couldn't do much in the compartment, given that we didn't want to wake Lupin, but we were all shocked awake from our naps by the train coming to a jolted stop. The rain was slamming on the train outside, pounding in the blackness. But we weren't anywhere near where the train was to make its stop at Hogwarts; in fact, we still had a little ways to go. As the train stopped, all the lights suddenly went out and the train was plunged into darkness.

"Wh-what's going on?" Neville stammered across from us.

"Ouch, Neville, that was my foot!" Hermione hissed angrily in pain.

"D'you think we've broken down?" Harry asked in confusion, shifting anxiously in his seat next to me.

"I've never heard of the Hogwarts Express doing that, though," I whispered.

In the darkness, I could _just_ make out the outline of the compartment door opening, squeaking as it did so. Harry reached over me to wipe out the fog on the glass.

"There's something moving out there… there are people coming aboard…" Harry hissed, shivering violently in rapid succession.

"Guys, guys, d'you know what's happening?" Ginny whispered anxiously in the darkness.

"Hey Ginny," I answered, "And no, no idea – how'd you even find us?"

"I remember you grumbling about all the compartments being full and I remembered this one had a teacher –"

"There isn't much place for you to sit down –" I hissed.

"Ginny, that's my _lap_," Neville grunted.

"Oh! Sorry!"

"Maybe I can scoot over here – you should've stayed with the twins –"

"I should ask the driver what's going on – Ginny you can take my spot while I do," Hermione offered.

"Good thing Ron hadn't decided to join me, he had considered it…"

"I would have had to sic Crookshanks on him…"

"Quiet!" the hoarse and somewhat familiar voice of Professor Lupin suddenly interjected. He had finally woken up. Lupin had stood up and a soft crackling noise filled the air, accompanying the handful of flames Lupin seemed to be holding.

"Stay where you are," he ordered quietly, getting to his feet very slowly and making his way towards the door.

But the door had slid open before Lupin could actually reach it. Standing in the doorway, partially illuminated, was a large, black, cloaked figure that reached the ceiling with its height. I couldn't see its face under its hood, and a hand was protruding from the cloak, glistening, gray, slimy and scabbed, as though it were in the process of decaying. The hand withdrew beneath the cloak and the thing drew a slow, rattling breath, sending a sudden chill over me. I couldn't breathe anymore, and I felt dazed and confused. All the joy within me was suddenly, gone. I felt like I was sitting next to Harry in the Chamber again, him dying of Basilisk venom, his eyes rolling into the back of his head with the poison as Riddle laughed cruelly in the background –

And suddenly Harry was on the floor, his eyes rolling back up into his head again as the rest of us all watched in astonishment. He began twitching, writhing on the ground.

"Harry!" I shouted in horror, overcoming my own feelings of hopelessness as I knelt down by him in anxiety. Hermione was already there, supporting Harry's head in her lap, wiping the newfound sweat from his forehead.

Lupin had pulled out his wand and shouted at the creature, "None of us are hiding Black under our cloaks. Go!" When the cloaked thing didn't leave, he raised his wand again and a giant, silvery shape appeared, similar to that of what looked like a grey wolf; the wolf charged the cloaked thing and drove it away out of the compartment. I was vaguely reminded of something – my mum had cast something like that once, it had flown through the air but acted as though it were swimming, the shape of a killer whale.

Lupin turned back to us, looking down at Harry in concern. Neville and Ginny were sitting down still, Ginny shaking and crying heavily, Neville not crying but shivering in his seat, his knees brought up to his chest in a sitting fetal position.

"Harry, Harry!" Hermione shouted, tears streaming down her face as she tried to wake him up, him still lying in her lap as I just kind of knelt there hopelessly. I couldn't shake that horrific feeling that had settled in my chest since I had remembered that awful moment in the Chamber. I knew I had repressed it, but this brutal reminder was simply unnecessary.

Hermione finally had started slapping Harry across the cheek, but she didn't seem to have the heart to do it strongly enough to wake him up.

"Oh, let me," I grunted, slapping him harder than I had actually meant to, and Harry's eyes were fluttering open slowly as the lights turned on and the train lurched to start moving again. He looked up at Hermione, who was now bending over him to look down directly at his face.

"Harry! Harry! Are you alright?" she begged anxiously.

Harry stirred for a moment, having trouble sitting up, blinking in the light as he mumbled in confusion. Neville was still holding his knees but had stopped shaking, and Ginny had stopped crying but was still shaking. Professor Lupin was still looking down at him with concern.

Harry finally sat up, looking very ill, pushing his glasses back on through the sweat on his face. I helped him back onto the seat, lifting him with Hermione from the floor.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Hermione murmured anxiously.

"That was really terrifying," I furthered, shuddering.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Harry responded weakly, "What happened? Where's that – that thing? Who screamed?"

"No one screamed, I mean, I don't _think_ anyone screamed," Neville murmured softly, looking nervous.

"But I heard screaming –" Harry protested. Suddenly, a snap echoed in the compartment. Lupin had a large chocolate bar in his hands and had broken in up into pieces, handing one to each of us, the largest of which to Harry.

"Here," he ordered calmly, "Eat it, it'll help."

We each took the bar but none of us could seem to force it into our mouths.

"What was that thing?" Harry asked of Lupin, looking up at him.

"A dementor," Lupin answered, "One of the dementors of Azkaban." Lupin crumpled up the empty chocolate wrapper and nodded at us again, ordering a second time, "Eat, it will help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me…"

He left the compartment and went down the corridor. We all turned to Harry in worry.

"Are you sure you're okay, Harry?" Hermione whispered anxiously.

"I don't get it… what happened?" Harry asked weakly, wiping sweat off his face.

"Well, the dementor, stood there and looked around, I mean it seemed like it did, and you – you… you were having a fit or something, I dunno, you went rigid and fell out of your seat and started twitching like mad…" I whispered.

"And Professor Lupin stepped over you, and walked to the dementor and ordered it to leave, but it didn't, so it shot the sort of silvery thing out of its wand and the dementor turned around and glided away…" Hermione whispered.

"It was… horrible," I murmured, "Did you feel how cold it got when it came it? I don't know why, but I relived my worst memory – felt it all over again, it was horrible."

"Me too," Ginny mumbled weakly, "It was like being there, again, knowing what was going to happen but being unable to do anything to change it –"

Neville was nodding anxiously in agreement, looking ill still. I had a hunch that Ginny's worst memory was the day in the Chamber, but I had no idea what Neville's was, that it would make him react so badly.

"But… did any of you… fall out of your seats?" Harry asked meekly.

We all shook our heads sadly, Hermione reaching over and squeezing Harry's wrist. Harry looked down at his lap in complete confusion as Lupin reentered the compartment.

"I haven't poisoned the chocolate, you know," he reminded in a slightly cheerful voice, looking pleased as we all bit into it and I felt a warmth run through to my toes, "We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes. Are you all right, Harry?"

"Fine," Harry murmured, looking embarrassed.

He nodded, "Good to see you again, Maggie."

I smiled weakly and nodded in agreement.

"And who are your friends, since I assume they'll be my pupils as well?" Lupin furthered, clearly trying to make cheerful conversation.

"Hermione Granger, sir," Hermione piped up.

"Neville Longbottom," Neville chimed in.

"Ginny Weasley – I'm not in their year, I'm a second year," Ginny whispered.

Lupin nodded in understanding, and the rest of the ride was spent in relative silence.

We finally reached the castle and entered the carriages, each of which was pulled by an invisible horse or something that couldn't be seen. Harry, Hermione, Neville and I got into a carriage as Ginny rejoined her second year friends.

"Are you _sure_ you're alright, Harry?" Hermione murmured anxiously.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," Harry sighed. Hermione was still holding his wrist.

We entered the castle and walked through the entrance hall, trying to keep Harry out of the public eye so no one would notice how sickly he looked already. Just as we were about to enter the Great Hall, a voice called out, "Potter! Granger! Johnson! Longbottom! I need to see you all!"

We all turned around, eyes wide, to see Professor McGonagall. She waved us on with her and we followed her through the corridors as she reassured, "There's no need to look frightened, none of you have done anything wrong."

We were ushered into her office and all took seats together.

"To begin," McGonagall paused, "Potter, Johnson, Longbottom, I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Huh?" we all asked.

"I mean to say, the end of last term was rather rushed – there was very little time to address the issue of what you went through and how it affected you. While your parents and guardians all assured me that during the summer they had done their best to put the issue from your minds – bringing you abroad, funding a week in Diagon Alley together – now that you're back at Hogwarts Professor Dumbledore mentioned there might be some, well, _instigators_ of trauma and such things. So, whether you like it or not, I've signed you all up for counseling sessions with the professor of your choosing, though Dumbledore mentioned that Harry, you would probably chose Professor Lupin, Neville, you would probably chose Professor Sprout, and Maggie, for reasons I cannot fathom, you would probably chose Professor Snape," McGonagall explained.

We all looked at each other and nodded calmly.

"Good. That's all I need you for, Longbottom, Johnson. Granger and Potter will meet you in the Great Hall," she dismissed. Neville and I got up and left the room calmly together.

"Really? Counseling?" I scowled, "I didn't get counseling after the incident with the giant chess set and that I actually almost died during."

"I expect getting attacked by giant spiders, having to escape on a wild, dangerous dragon, and fighting the most deadly snake of all time seems a bit more serious to them," Neville suggested, a slight smile on his face.

"Oh _don't_ spread the dragon thing around, I'll get a reputation," I groaned as we reached the Great Hall a second time.

"Maggie Johnson: Dragon Rider!" Neville joked, and I elbowed him in the ribs as we sat across from Ginny and near the twins, leaving space for our missing friends.

"What happened?" Ginny asked in an anxious voice as we explained the meeting.

"Oh, they've had me in counseling since the end of last term," Ginny waved her hand off in the air as if swatting a fly, "Granted, what I went through was somewhat worse, but I've been talking to Professor Dumbledore at least once a week, even if it's through owl post."

"Huh," I frowned, "You never mentioned it."

Ginny looked back at me cheekily, "You never asked."

"Touché," I responded as the Hat began singing to the first years. Once again, I paid no attention to it, more anxious to see why Harry and Hermione had been held back again.

The returned on their own time and sat next to us nonchalantly when the sorting had finally ended.

"What was all that about?" I asked in a hushed whisper.

"McGonagall wanted to make sure I'd recovered on the train, and wanted to talk to Hermione about her courses," Harry responded quickly as Dumbledore stood up in front of the student body.

"Welcome!" he greeted cheerfully amongst the floating candles, "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast. As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business. They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises – or even Invisibility Cloaks. It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors.'

Percy puffed out his chest and I smirked at Fred and George, who stuck out their tongues in mock disgust along with me.

"On a happier note," Dumbledore continued, "I'm pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was scattered applause, except for from us who had been in his compartment when the dementor had come – we cheered quite loudly indeed. I looked over at the Slytherin table to see Draco was sneering at Harry's turned back, and I frowned. Malfoy caught my eye and smirked, pretending to faint.

_How did he find out_? I thought in fury as I turned my attention angrily back to Dumbledore.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued, "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his other gamekeeping duties."

The applause that erupted from the Gryffindor table was deafening now, as most of us cheered at the top of our lungs. Fred, George and I immediately began chanting, "_GO, GO, GO HAGRID! GO, GO, GO HAGRID!_" The Hufflepuffs were also very excited and the Ravenclaws were happy about the appointment; only the Slytherins looked rather irritated about the affair. Hagrid appeared to be fighting back tears of joy.

"Well, I think that's everything of importance," Dumbledore announced as Hermione, Harry and Neville stopped clapping, Ginny stopped whistling and the twins and I stopped chanting, "Let the feast begin!"

To say that I stuffed myself would be an understatement. Though, I was moderately distracted – every time Harry appeared to be turning around, Draco would immediately notice and start pretending to faint, so I would have to force Harry's attention back on me and Hermione across from him. Finally, the feast ended and we were dismissed; the giant group of us all immediately rushed up to the head table to greet Hagrid.

"Oh congratulations Hagird!" Hermione squealed happily.

"Did you enjoy our little chant?" Fred asked eagerly.

"It was unoriginal on our part but we felt it was still worth it," George continued.

"I'm so happy for you!" I beamed, Harry and Ginny just grinning at Hagrid with unbridled joy.

"All down ter you – well, to Harry, and Maggie, and Neville, and Hermione o' course," Hagrid smiled at the Weasleys, "Though I'm sure you would've done the same. Can' believe it… great man, Dumbledore… came down straight to me after Professor Kettleburn said he'd had enough… It's what I've always wanted, an' now that my name's been cleared…"

He buried his face in his napkin and we all scurried away back to the dormitories, entering when the password was finally announced. Hermione turned to me and motioned for me to leave with her back to the Common Room out of earshot of the other three Gryffindor girls.

"Maggie, I have to tell you something," Hermione hissed anxiously, red in the face and looking so embarrassed I was fairly confused, "I just – I can't hold it in any longer."

"Oh?" I responded in confusion, "What is it, Hermione?"

She mumbled something under her breath and I raised my eyebrows.

"C'mon, spit it out," I ordered.

She looked up into my eyes and took a deep breath, "I… I have a crush on Harry."

I felt my eyes widen in amazement and shock and I took a step back.

"Wait, like, _crush_ crush? Like, romantic feelings? Like, gushy feelings?" I hissed in surprise.

"Yeah," Hermione was blushing even more now.

"Well…" I was still at a loss for words, "Erm… wow. I… dunno what to say now… but when we have Ancient Runes and there's no one around from the gang to overhear us, I'll… be able to say something… maybe?"

Hermione nodded, "That's why I told you now – I wanted you to be able to process it."

"Yeah, processing's what I'm going to need," I shook my head with the shock.

Unfortunately, I wasn't going to have much processing time. Our first lesson the first day was Arithmancy, then Transfiguration, and after that, Care of Magical Creatures. But the second day we had Ancient Runes first thing, and I realized I'd have to have wrapped my brain around this by then. And in the meantime I would still have to interact relatively normally with Hermione.

While Harry and Ron went off to Divination together on the opposite end of the school, Neville, Hermione and I went off to Arithmancy.

"Wait, Hermione," Neville was frowning as we joined the small group of other people in the subject, "Don't you _also_ have Divination right now?"

"Ah, yes, my schedule's a bit cramped," Hermione responded rather evasively. I tore her timetable out of her hands and gawked at it.

"Hermione, you're supposed to be at Arithmancy, Divination _and_ Muggle Studies right now!" I gasped, "That's… impossible!"

"Not impossible, just highly unlikely," Hermione snapped, taking the timetable back from me.

"You'd have to be in _three places at once_!" I insisted.

"Look, my schedule is full, I've worked it all out with Professor McGonagall, alright?" Hermione sounded truly angry now so I dropped the subject as we entered the Arithmancy classroom.

The room was filled with numbers on all sides, written in elegant scrawls and clearly in defined patterns. The only other students in the class were Ravenclaws – Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot, Mia Eckles and Mandy Brocklehurst. They sort of sat on one side of the tiny room and we did on the other. Upon seeing his only fellows were Ravenclaws, Neville immediately looked rather nervous.

"You'll be fine," I hissed out the corner of my mouth, hoping to god this would prove true, as it had been me who had encouraged him to do this in the first place.

The Professor then walked in, a young woman with long brown hair that went down to her feet and bright blue eyes. She stood amongst the many intricate calculations on the board wearing robes of navy blue and looked around at us calmly.

"Hello class," she paused, "This is a rather larger group than I am used to. Bravo. Hopefully we won't have dropped to two of you by your fifth year, like in this year's fifth year class."

Neville shifted nervously in his seat.

"At any rate, I am Professor Vector. I am the _only_ person at this school, save Dumbledore, whom you could probably come to for help in the subject of Arithmancy, so to get on my good side is to ensure good marks," Professor Vector continued, "I will not be patient with people who do not know how to ask for help. This is a difficult subject for most everyone; unless you swallow your pride," she looked over at the Ravenclaws in particular, "And admit that you need assistance in the subject, you will not do well. Understood?"

Neville looked considerably happier. Professors hardly ever said in such a point-blank way that you _needed_ to ask for help in a class. He would enjoy that, I was sure.

"Alright, well today we're doing something very simple – analyzing what our names say about our personality. I believe a practical first lesson really gets the students interested in the subject from the get-go. There really isn't much instruction needed, unless your parents or the muggle primary schools you went to neglected to teach you basic arithmetic, in which case… some private tutoring might be needed as well as questions as to _why_ you decided to take an entirely mathematics based course. After we analyze our names, I shall go over the syllabus. Feel free to discuss your results with your neighbors," Professor Vector then wrote _Page 10_ on the blackboard and nodded for us to open our books to it.

It was very simple indeed. We matched each of the letters in our name to a number between one and nine. We then added up all the numbers, and if that number was greater than nine, then we added up the digits in the new number and continued until we got a number less than nine. This new number would describe our personality. Of course, there were variations, but the page assigned only talked about the basic process.

"I'm a six," I hissed to Hermione, "What about you?"

"I'm a seven," Hermione beamed back at me.

"No surprises there," Neville rolled his eyes.

"Oh? And what about you?" I responded cheekily.

"I'm a nine," Neville responded meekly.

"Nice!" I laughed, "Course you are, too."

"Wait, how are you a nine? Neville Longbottom, that comes out to five, doesn't it?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"My middle name is Archibald. _Don't you dare laugh Maggie_!" Neville hissed but I was already gone, giggling behind my hand.

"Alright!" Professor Vector called out, reigning back in the class, "Here are the descriptions on the board. I'm sure we have many different numbers in this class."

I read on the board, though I had already read it in the book, "_Six represents harmony, friendship, and family life. Sixes are loyal, reliable, and loving. They adapt easily. They do well in teaching and the arts, but are often unsuccessful in business. They are sometimes prone to gossip and complacency."_

I didn't know I was prone to gossip, but now that I actually thought about it I did talk about Draco Malfoy an _awful_ lot.

Seven's description was, of course, predictable for Hermione: "_Perceptive, understanding, and bright, sevens enjoy hard work and challenges. They are often serious, scholarly, and interested in all things mysterious. Originality and imagination are more important than money and material possessions. Sevens can also be pessimistic, sarcastic, and insecure._ "

Nine also seemed to, in a strange way, fit Neville: "_Nines dedicate themselves to service, often as teachers, scientists, and humanitarians. Strongly determined, they work tirelessly and are an inspiration to others. However, they can also be arrogant and conceited when things don't go their way."_

"Now, let's go over the syllabus," Professor Vector continued, "We will start out the course with personal numbers, the meaning of our names and our families, birthdays and birth months and use that to transition into the meaning of different days and the numerology behind moments in history…"

We finished the class and left together, Neville and I chatting amiably about our homework – repeat the process for heart numbers and social numbers, which were different than our character numbers. When we turned around to discuss this with Hermione, however, she was gone.

"What… where did she…" Neville frowned.

"Maybe she had to double back for something?" I suggested, but I also looked puzzled.

Neville shrugged and we headed to Transfiguration together, sitting in a double person seat in front of Harry, who had his usual spot open for Hermione. Ron and Siobhan were behind him as per usual, and Ron was looking moderately concerned for Harry.

"How'd Divination go?" I asked Harry cheerfully. The look on Harry's face told me not well in the slightest.

I turned back to face Professor McGonagall at the front of the room, but then decided the better of it and turned around to see Hermione and Harry sitting together.

"Wait – what –where'd you –" I stammered in confusion.

"Please, Maggie, do _try_ to string two words together," Hermione snapped. She seemed on edge, but when we had finished Arithmancy she was positively beaming.

"What's… wrong?" I asked, frowning.

But the class had started and Professor McGonagall was going into detail about animagi, talking about the repercussions of their transformations. Neville and I were the only two people who clapped when she turned into a tabby cat with spectacle markings around the eyes and back into our professor.

"Really, what _has_ got into you all today?" Professor McGonagall asked in annoyance, "Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation's got only a slight applause from the class."

I shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine, Professor." Neville chuckled next to me.

Hermione raised her hand, unlike me, and stated, "Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and we were reading the tea leaves, and –"

_Wait, she wasn't _in _divination!_ I thought in amazement. I turned to look at her with a frown as Professor McGonagall sighed, "Ah, of course. There is no need to say any more, Miss Granger. Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?"

I turned around sharply and looked at Professor McGonagall in confusion.

"Me," Harry finally said behind me. I turned around sharply again and raised my eyebrows in amazement.

"I see," Professor McGonagall responded, and I spun around in my chair once more, causing Neville to burst into laughter, "Then you should know, Potter, that Sibyll Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favorite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues – and no, Johnson, I do not count Gilderoy Lockhart as my colleague … Divination is the most imprecise branch of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I Have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney… Well, you look in excellent health to me, potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in."

Hermione, Neville and I burst into laughter, and I could see that Harry had been cheered up a bit. Unfortunately, none of the rest of the class appeared to be reassured.

We spent the rest of the class learning about Animagi, and I felt myself rather intrigued. I couldn't believe it, but I found myself thinking _I should go to the library and learn more about this…_

"Hermione," I hissed as we left the class. She turned and looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"I'm turning into _you_!" I groaned. She looked at me in more confusion but decided to not push the subject.

Ron was talking to Harry in a hushed voice and Hermione doubled back to argue with him about something – I kept hearing the word _Grim_. I shook my head and continued on, following Neville down to the Great Hall for lunch. It was my birthday and the afternoon post was an exciting prospect for me.

"Granger, you don't know what you're talking about, Divination is a real thing –"

"Really, because you seemed to think that it had been a sheep in Harry's cup, Weasley, not a _Grim_ –"

"Professor Trelawney said you didn't have the right aura! You just don't like being bad at something, Granger!"

We sat down at the table and Neville and I watched the exchange with wide eyes.

"If being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see death omens in a lump of tea leaves, I'm not sure I'll be studying it much longer! That lesson was absolute rubbish compared with Arithmancy!" Hermione snapped, pulling up her books from the table as soon as she had put them down and stalking away.

"She hasn't been to Arithmancy yet though… has she?" Harry asked me, frowning.

"She was there," I paused, "I'm as confused as you are."

Ron had gone to go talk to Seamus and Dean again, clearly unwilling to talk to me.

"What's a Grim?" I asked Neville under my breath.

"Just a death omen – I think it's supposed to be a big black dog or something. I dunno, Gran never has had patience with that stuff. To be honest, she was extremely relieved I decided to not do Divination," Neville responded.

I nodded, deciding that I didn't have much patience with that stuff either.

"Happy Birthday, at any rate, Maggie," Harry interjected. I looked up at him and we both laughed for a fairly long time at the way he had delivered that statement.

"How are you doing, Harry?" I asked when Neville had gone back to Gryffindor Tower to get some books, "I mean, with all the Black stuff and everything, and the dementors from yesterday –"

"Fine," Harry paused, "Though the fact I heard screaming is still a little disconcerting… can you tell me something?"

"Yeah, sure, anything," I nodded.

"Why did Hermione pull me into her lap when I fell on the ground?" Harry asked, frowning now.

I felt my eyes widen in shock, "Oh… I dunno, the floor was rather hard wasn't it? I expect she didn't want you to be hurt."

Harry was still frowning, "But… I dunno, it just seemed… odd."

"I'm sorry, I dunno what was going through Hermione's head at that moment," I shrugged, knowing full well that I kind of did at any rate.

We headed outside for Care of Magical Creatures, all of us chatting amiably. I had my robes off and was just in my white shirt, my tie loose around my neck as I skipped down the grassy hill next to Hermione, who was laughing at me. Ron was as far away from Hermione as he could possibly be, which suited her just fine.

Unfortunately, my joy at reaching the class ended when I saw that the Slytherins were in these lessons with us. Malfoy was talking amiably with Crabbe and Goyle and I let out an audible groan.

Hagrid was waiting for us at the door of his hut. He stood there with Fang and Harry and I both grinned at each other in excitement.

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" Hagrid called, "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here?" Right, follow me!"

Hagrid strolled along the edge of the trees as we followed him along them, reaching what seemed like a paddock but there was nothing inside.

"Everyone gather 'round the fence here! That's it – make sure yeh can see – now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books –"

"How?" Draco Malfoy sneered.

"Eh?" Hagrid asked.

"How do we open our books?" Malfoy repeated, taking out _The Monster Book of Monsters_, bound shut with rope. We all pulled them out, all of them forced shut in some way.

"Hasn' – hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" Hagrid asked, looking saddened by this news.

We all shook our heads sadly. It seemed like every Slytherin and every Gryffindor was taking the class, now that I looked around properly.

"Yeh've got ter _stroke_ 'em," Hagrid explained, "Look –"

He took Hermione's copy of the book and untied the hair ribbon, immediately running a giant finger down its spine and the book fell open and quiet in his hand.

"Oh how silly we've all been!" Malfoy sneered, "We should have _stroked_ them! Why didn't we guess!"

"I – I thought they were funny," Hagrid murmured to Hermione.

"Oh, tremendously funny!" Malfoy continued, "Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!"

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry snapped. Hagrid was looking depressed.

"Righ' then," Hagird continued, "So – so yeh've got yer books an' – an' now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on…" He went out to the forest and out of sight.

"God, this place is going to the dogs," Malfoy shouted, "That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him 0"

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry repeated. I pulled out my wand and aimed it at him. Malfoy, however, just smirked.

"Careful, Potter, there's a dementor behind you!"

Harry just gave him a look of confusion as Lavender Brown behind us squealed in delight. I felt panicked; I had managed to help Harry avoid any ridicule about his faint. We whirled around to see a dozen weird creatures trotting towards us. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of giant eagles, with cruel grey beaks and brilliant orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and deadly looking. They all had thick collars around their necks, attached to long chains.

Hagrid came jogging up behind the creatures and urged them forward.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid announced happily, "Beau'iful, aren' they?"

I could definitely see what Hagrid meant.

"So," Hagrid announced, "if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer –"

Harry, Hermione and I approached the fence, though the rest of the class didn't seem to have the courage, not even Neville.

"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud," Hagrid announced, "Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."

The Slytherins were clearly plotting behind us and not listening to Hagrid.

"Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued, "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt. Right, who wants ter go first?"

Most of the class backed farther away, however, I looked up determinedly t Hagrid and announced, "I'll do it!"

"Bravo, Maggie, bravo!" Hagrid cheered, "Right then, let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak."

He untied a chain and pulled the gray hippogriff away from its fellows and slipped off its leather collar.

"Easy now, Maggie. Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink… Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much…"

I approached the hippogriff, forcing my eyes open wide as I snuck towards the creature nervously, meeting its orange eyes with my green as I snuck along.

"That's it," Hagrid encouraged, "Tha's it, Maggie… now, bow…"

I gave a short bow, trying to not show how nervous I was, and looked up. The hippogriff bent its scaly front knees down to the ground and sank into a bow.

"Well done Maggie! Right – yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!"

I moved slowly and cautiously to the hippogriff and reached out toward it, patting the beak gently as the hippogriff closed its eyes lazily.

The class broke into applause and Harry whistled to my amusement, except for Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson, who all looked supremely disappointed.

"Righ' then, Maggie. I reckon he might let yeh ride him!"

I looked at Hagrid in shock, remember how much I had disliked flying on a broom, and the dragon. Though, with the dragon, I wasn't exactly in a comfortable position, so that might not have been the dragon's fault.

"Yeh climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint," Hagrid explained, "An' mind yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' like that…"

I managed to hoist myself onto Buckbeak's back as the hippogriff stood up. I gently held onto the feathers behind his neck, praying to god I wouldn't pull out any of the feathers.

"Go on, then!" Hagrid ordered, slapping Buckbeak's hindquarters.

Twelve-foot wings opened up on either side of me and I wrapped my arms more steadily around the hippogriff's neck, shouting in amazement as it ran forward and soared upward. It was nothing like a broom; it was brilliant. The creature moved underneath me in an unmistakably organic way; it flapped its wings with such control that I didn't feel like I was going to fall off at all and I even let go of it with my arms, trusting my legs to know what to do. The creature had a mastery of the skies and knew what it wanted to do with them; nothing was left up to me and that was fine, it was beautiful. I moved with the creature on its back as it flapped its wings, becoming part of it, an extension of the animal.

Buckbeak flew around the paddock and then landed back on the ground, the feet landing with a thud and trotting back over to Hagrid.

"Good work, Maggie!" Hagrid roared as everyone except the four loathsome Slytherins cheered, "Okay, who else wants a go?"

The rest of the class immediately went up, feeling emboldened. Harry immediately bowed before Buckbeak and the hippogriff took to him as well, letting him pat him on the beak.

"You, sister, are brilliant," Harry beamed. I beamed back, scratching Buckbeak behind his head.

We then went to go talk to Hermione, who was with a new, brown hippogriff. As we all bowed to it, however, a commotion could be heard and Malfoy sneering, "This is very easy, I knew it must have been, if Johnson could do it… I bet you're not dangerous at all are you, you great ugly brute?" A loud screech could be heard and a yelp and we turned around to see Malfoy on the ground, a long cut in his arm, as Buckbeak was forced back into his collar by Hagrid and Malfoy moaned on the ground.

Hagrid lifted Malfoy and Hermione helped him out of the paddock as Hagrid ran back up to the castle, the rest of us following calmly as the Slytherins shouted in protest.

"Oh no," Hermione moaned as we reached the castle, "You don't think they'll fire Hagrid, do you?"

"Not a chance," Harry snarled, "I won't let them."

"It was Malfoy's fault, after all, he didn't show the hippogriff respect!" I snapped.

"Do you think Malfoy will be alright, though?" Hermione asked nervously as we reached the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Course he will, Madam Pomfrey can mend cuts in about a second," Harry responded confidently.

"That was a really bad thing to happen in Hagrid's first class…" I groaned, "I hate Malfoy. I just _hate him!_"

Hagrid wasn't at the Great Hall at dinner and we were worried he'd been fired, so we went down to Hagrid's Hut later that evening, despite Hermione's worries about Harry and Sirius Black.

"'Spect it's a record," Hagrid told us thickly as he drank himself silly in his hut, "Don' reckon they've ever had a teacher who lasted on'y a day before."

"You haven't been fired, Hagrid?" Hermione gasped.

"Not yet," Hagrid moaned, "But 's only a matter o' time, I'n't it, after Malfoy…"

"He's fine though, isn't he?" I asked calmly.

"Madam Pomfrey fixed him best she could, but he's sayin' it's still agony… covered in bandages… moanin'…" Hagrid sighed.

"He's lying," Harry responded firmly, "Mandam Pomfrey can mend anything, she regrew my bones last year. Trust Malfoy to milk it for all it's worth."

"School gov'nors have bin told, o'course. They reckon I started too big. Shoulda left hippogriffs for later… done flobberworms or summat… Jus' thought it'd make a good firs' lesson… 'S all my fault…"

"It's all _Malfoy's_ fault, Hagrid!" Hermione protested.

"We're witnesses," Harry assured, "You said hippogriffs attack if you insult them. It's Malfoy's problem that he wasn't listening. We'll tell Dumbledore what really happened."

"No worries, Hagrid, we're on your side," I murmured.

Hagrid began sobbing and pulled us all into a hug that could have broken our bones.

"It was good of yeh ter come an' see me, I really –" Hagrid croaked, but then his eyes landed on Harry and realization finally came to him.

"WHAT D'YEH THINK YOU'RE DOIN', EH?" Hagrid shouted, "YEH'RE NOT TO GO WANDERIN' AROUDN AFTER DARK, HARRY! AN' YOU TWO! LETTIN' HIM!"

Hagrid pulled us back up to the castle, shouting, "I'm takin' yeh all back up ter school, an' don' let me catch yeh walkin' down ter see me after dark again. I'm not worth that!"

The next day, we had Ancient Runes first thing, and I realized that I hadn't even thought about Hermione's crush _once_ on my birthday as we went up to the Ancient Runes classroom.

"So… Maggie… did you think about what… I talked to you about?" Hermione asked in a very quiet voice as we sat down in the classroom that was littered with anglo-saxon runes everywhere, written all over the walls.

"Yeah, sort of," I paused, "I didn't have much time to, to be frank, Hermione. But I did."

"A-And?" Hermione murmured.

I looked at her calmly, "Well, I'm not surprised. That would be a lie. And… to be honest, if I have to think about Harry ending up with anyone at all, then I wouldn't have it be anyone except for you. No one else is good enough for him."

Hermione's face contorted into a wide smile.

"You know there's a but coming there," I sighed. Hermione's smile fell and she nodded.

"Harry's not _ready_ yet, Hermione. I dunno if he likes anyone at all, but he hasn't mentioned it, and to be honest, I don't want the first person he dates to be you. I want you two to last if you're going to happen at all," I paused, "I don't want you two to break up and no longer be friends."

"Okay…" Hermione looked at me, motioning for me to continue.

"Well, Harry right now is thirteen, an emotional prat, and pretty much controlled solely by hormones," I paused, "Whomever he dates right now is going to be pretty much snog-n-go. It won't be a meaningful relationship and I think that's what _you_ deserve with him. You need to be patient, you need to let him go out there and have a meaningless… fling… where he matures up a bit and realizes that he wants more than just shagging time, you know?"

Hermione nodded in understanding, though she still looked crestfallen.

"I'm just saying, not now but soon, alright?" I sighed, "Don't look so depressed, once he's dated a floozy and dumped her I'm going to start talking you up a storm in very, very subtle ways."

Hermione smiled weakly as Professor Babbling, the teacher for Ancient Runes, stood up in front of the class. We spent most of the class learning the Anglo Saxon alphabet and practicing writing in them; the magical applications of the runes would be learned later in the year, once we had become proficient in the language.

That day at lunch I received a note from Professor Snape.

_Dear Miss Johnson, _

_Today we will be having our first counseling session after dinner. I also am taking the opportunity in this note to ask that you never hug me in front of anyone – even if it's one person such as Longbottom – ever, again. _

_Sincerely, _

_Professor Snape_.

I laughed out loud at this causing me to receive funny looks from Harry, who had received a similar note, but I just shrugged and shook my head whilst chuckling.

So I headed down to the dungeons to go to my Counseling Session of pointlessness after dinner, my bag still extraordinarily heavy after Ancient Runes this morning. I went to Snape's office and slammed the door behind me as I sat at his desk.

"So. You went and attacked a basilisk last year, and nearly watched Mr. Potter die…" Snape began coldly.

"Oh stop it, Professor, we both know I don't need counseling," I snapped.

Snape sighed, "You might, we never know –"

"Be reasonable here."

"Look, these have been ordered by the Minister of Magic, alright? He seems to think you three need them same as Miss Weasley," Snape sneered.

"Right, because I was plagued by memories of giant snakes the whole summer –"

"_Use your head Miss Johnson!_" Snape roared. I looked at him in shock, my eyes wide.

"The Minister _knows_ you don't need counseling – that's the whole point! You three took down a monster without any seeming repercussions. The Minister _wants to keep an eye on you_, wants to make sure you don't cause any more trouble! He _doesn't trust you –_not you, not Potter, not Longbottom, not Granger."

"What?" I asked in quiet amazement.

"Two years in a row, you and your friends have solved problems at this school that should have been taken care of by professors. Not only is the Minister concered about the quality and competency of the staff, he is concerned that you will take your problem-solving ways and turn them loose on problems that he does not want you meddling in – problems such as the capture of Sirius Black," Snape said Black's name with such loathing I was simply astonished.

"Concerned about the competency of the staff…" I whispered.

Snape smiled cruelly, "It's usually the job of the teacher to protect the students, not the other way around."

"How does the staff feel about this?" I asked cheekily.

Snape shook his head sadly, "Ashamed, for the most part, Miss Johnson. Professor McGonagall indicated that she didn't really know how to look herself in the eye in a mirror for most of the holidays."

"Well then," I paused, "I'm not up to anything, and I don't need help with 'dealing with my feelings.' Can I go now?"

Snape sneered, "I'll be checking up on you regularly, you know."

I stood up and left the office, calling over my shoulder, "Oh, I know."

This year would be oodles of fun.

AN: Well that was overly long. Sorry about that. I had a lot to include. Also - can you guys spot Luna? Until she's formally introduced at the end of book four I've put her in, kind of like an Easter Egg, throughout the story. She's in the last chapter of Chamber of Secrets, too.

Shout out time! Thank you to Austenfan10, Cami Sky, puncher71, MiraclesHappen94, and aightaight for favoriting/following this story! I hope you'll leave me a review telling me what you think. Thank you a lot to MiraclesHappen94 for reviewing my old story, Hand Magic, and making my day with that haha. Finally, thank you to Viola Potterhead Girl, rangerhero, Magical fan18, Edmond O'Donald, HHR fan, DreamCatcher1991, Cooky Crumbla, and puncher71 for reviewing! I'll try to reply to you all soon but I have a lot to do this afternoon.

Thanks for reading, guys, and please review!


	19. Ch 18: September – October 31, 1993

Chapter Eighteen: September – October 31, 1993, Hogwarts

Draco Malfoy did not return to our classes until late on Thursday morning, when Slytherins and Gryffindors were slogging through our Double Potions class. Malfoy swaggered into the dungeon, his right arm covered in bandages and in a sling, and he acted like he had survived a great war.

"How is it, Draco?" Pansy Parkinson simpered, "Does it hurt terribly, Draco?"

"Yeah," Malfoy sighed, putting on what looked like a brave face. I felt my fists clench and I narrowed my eyes in anger. He winked at Crabbe and Goyle when Pansy had turned away and I gritted my teeth in fury.

"Settle down, settle down," Snape ordered idly. I glared at him too.

We began making our Shrinking Solutions, while Malfoy called on Snape to torture us by making us help him. Since Snape needed to look like he hated me same as the other Gryffindors, he put me to work cutting up Malfoy's ingredients along with Harry. When we were working alongside him, Malfoy turned to me, smirking.

"Seen your pal Hagrid today?" Malfoy asked quietly.

"None of your business," I hissed.

"I'm afraid he won't be a teacher much longer. Father's not very happy about my injury –" Malfoy simpered.

"I'll give you a real injury, I swear I will," I snapped.

"He's complained to the school governors, _and_ to the Ministry of Magic. Father's got a lot of influence, you know. And a lasting injury like this…" Draco fake-sighed, "Who knows if my arm'll ever be the same again? With that great oaf teaching classes, why, no one is safe."

I held up my knife that I was using to cut up his roots and glared at him, "Do you _honestly_ think you're safe right now?"

The class had gone quiet. I don't know what had come over me. I felt like there was fire bubbling up in my stomach to my chest and my vision had turned red. Harry's face had gone pale and Hermione was hissing, "_Maggie, calm down!_"

Draco smirked back at me, "Like you could try anything with that and not get expelled, Johnson. Ah well, at least you and Hagrid can be outcasts together in the woods, taking care of your precious monsters and wallowing in your own filth."

I set down the knife, shaking from head to toe, and Harry looked like he thought I had regained myself – relieved. But I had simply retained enough reason to know that a knife would probably get me expelled.

My fists wouldn't.

I swung my arm backward and punched Malfoy across the face. He fell to the floor of the dungeon with a yelp and knocked over his whole cauldron, causing his hurt arm to begin to shrivel horribly. Pansy Parkinson screamed as Malfoy stood up and wielded his strong arm, punching me back in the eye and sending me whirling backward as he kicked me in the knee. I turned back and literally bit down on his fist as it came back to me, tasting blood in my mouth. Malfoy roared in horror and stepped back wildly, looking at me as if I were an alien or something.

"What the –" he snapped.

"THAT'S ENOUGH," Snape roared. I turned around, unable to see out of my right eye, my knee feeling dislocated.

"BOTH OF YOU –" Snape caught himself, realizing he had to punish me more in front of such a large audience, "FIFTY POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR AND TWENTY FIVE POINTS FROM SLYTHERIN. DETENTIONS, FOR A MONTH, FOR YOU BOTH. I do not _believe_ that _either_ of you would fight so _blatantly_ and _violently_ in my class. Malfoy, go straight to Madam Pomfrey and take a swelling solution for your arm. Johnson, go straight to Professor McGonagall's office and explain what happened. Malfoy I expect to see you in my office after you are fixed. _NOW!_" Snape roared.

I felt ashamed of myself and limped out of the classroom after grabbing my books, trusting Harry or Hermione or Neville to pick up my supplies.

_Why did I _bite _him? _I thought in horror.

I entered Professor McGonagall's office and sat down immediately, exhausted after limping all the way up here.

"I am astounded," she stated in amazement after I finished my story, "Simply astounded."

"I really am sorry," I murmured softly.

"I'm sure you are, but I'm not going to take away Snape's punishment. It's _necessary_," McGonagall paused, looking at me in amazement, "You _bit_ him?"

"I don't know why!" I threw my arms in the air.

"I have no idea what to say with you! It doesn't _matter_ what I say, you'll just go and get into another fight with Malfoy the next day! It's a futile mission! You are simply _incorrigible _Johnson!" McGonagall shouted.

"I know!"

"There's no point in punishing you because it never does anything, but if we don't you'll apparently get worse!" McGonagall threw her hands above her head.

"I'm… I always… I…"

"But _biting_? It's like I'm dealing with a three year old!" McGonagall shouted.

"I know!" I responded in equal volume, "I _know!_ I know it's no excuse but I just got so _mad_, Professor, I _saw red_, my entire vision was colored, it felt like I could – I don't know, spit fire or something – breathe it and cover Malfoy with it – I don't understand!"

McGonagall looked at me sharply. There was a very long and silent pause.

"Have you tried to find a _way_ to contain your anger? You've just been put into so many of these situations – especially with Malfoy –"

"Of course not," I snapped.

She stared at me and came around the front of her desk, closer in proximity to me, "I saw the books you checked out from the library earlier this week. I think I know, and I think you know, a way."

I looked down and frowned at the ground, "They were just to write the essay…"

"You and I both know you have your own personal library enough to do that," McGonagall snapped.

I looked up, "So I was curious, OK? You know yourself that my grandmother back home is the head of Transfiguration at her own school and –"

"And is a mountain lion, I'm aware," McGonagall paused, "How far were you going to go in the process before you asked for help?"

"Not… very far…" I flushed.

"You stole Re'em blood from the student store cupboard!" McGonagall hissed, "Professor Snape _saw_ you do it!"

"Alright!" I roared in response, "I wanted to try and start brewing the potion!"

McGonagall actually _sat_ on her desk and rubbed her temple with a sigh.

"What if I turn into an angry animal, Professor?" I suggested, "I read that when an angry person becomes an animagi and their form is angrier than they are, it only helps them –"

"I've read the literature, Johnson, I _am_ an animagi," McGongall snapped.

"But come on, it's _reasonable-_"

"Have you started brewing the potion?" McGonagall demanded.

I sighed and nodded, "I'm brewing it in Myrtle's bathroom."

McGonagall let out a long sigh, "You know I can't let you continue this."

I hung my head and nodded.

"… Unsupervised."

I lifted my head up rapidly and felt my eyes widen.

"You are a very gifted transfiguration student, Miss Johnson. And you have an anger problem. And I never have students who wish to try and attempt to become an animagus," McGonagall paused, "So I want to help you with it. I don't want you to hurt yourself and I want to make sure you do it properly."

"So you're… you're going to… help me become an animagus?" I whispered.

"On one condition, and one condition only," McGonagall replied sternly.

"Alright…"

"You must register," McGonagall ordered, "You _must_. I will not have you using your anonymity to cause trouble. This is, really, to get you _out _of trouble by helping you channel your anger, as well as many other things."

"Alright," I nodded, but remembered Snape's words about the Minister Fudge, and how he had taken in Hagrid last year, and the prejudice my mum faced, and how they hadn't caught Black yet and hadn't done a damn thing first year or second year.

"When the Ministry is no longer corrupt," I finished. McGonagall glared angrily and opened her mouth to retort but I held up my hand.

"Professor Snape told me the real reason behind our 'counseling sessions,' Professor. And I have not seen a shred of evidence from any source that the Ministry can be trusted. So I add a second statement – I will register when the Ministry is no longer corrupt, or when I've left school, whichever comes first. But not when both are untrue statements. I will not be bullied and persecuted and threatened by Ministry insiders for being an animagus when I'm in school and can't do a damn thing – sorry, excuse my language – to stop them. Is that reasonable, ma'am?"

McGonagall studied me for a long time. We sat across from each other, in silence, for a long time, before she nodded her head.

"Even Professor Dumbledore would agree with you on this front, I'm afraid to say. So yes," McGonagall nodded.

I jumped in the air and raised my fist in joy.

"_You must not tell anyone!_" McGonagall hissed. I turned around and looked at her in shock.

"I wasn't going to –"

"No one! None of your friends, none of your family, not Potter, and none of the other teachers. I will tell Professor Dumbledore but that is _it_. If we are to keep this from the Ministry, even for a little while, it must be _absolutely secret. Do you understand?_"

"Yes," I nodded meekly.

"Alright. You may go. I believe you have Defense Against the Dark Arts soon, at any rate," McGonagall sighed, "Come to my office tomorrow after your lessons for your first meeting. I will take your potion from Myrtle's bathroom and make sure it isn't going to make the castle explode… the animagus potion has been known to do this."

I nodded and left the room calmly, but when the door closed I did some major skipping, jumping into the air and tapping my heels together in midair.

I went up to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and sat down in my usual seat when the rest of the Gryffindors reached the room, Harry sitting next to me.

"What happened? Did McGonagall punish you more?" he asked as he took out his materials.

"No," I paused, "Just scolded me."

Harry nodded, "That was completely mental, what you did."

"I know."

"Well, try to contain yourself," Harry shook his head, "_Biting Malfoy_, honestly…"

Lupin entered the classroom then, smiling at all of us vaguely and placing his briefcase on the teacher's desk. He was still very shabby but was looking a little healthier.

"Good afternoon. Would you please put all your books back in your bags – today's will be a practical lesion. You will need only your wands."

We had never had a practical Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson before and as such we all exchanged looks of curiosity.

"Right then," Lupin continued when we were all read, "Follow me, please."

We all got to our feet and followed Lupin out of the classroom, winding through the corridors when we ran into Peeves, floating upside down in midair and stuffing the nearest keyhole with chewing gum.

"Loony, loony Lupin!" he sang when he saw the professor, "Loony, loony Lupin, loony, loony Lupin –"

"I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, peeves," Lupin replied pleasantly, "Mr. Filch won't be able to get in to his brooms."

Peeves blew a loud wet raspberry in Lupin's face.

Lupin sighed and pulled out his wand, "This is a useful little spell," he announced to the class, "Please watch closely."

"_Waddiwassi!_" he shouted, pointing his wand at Peeves. The wad of chewing gum shot out of the keyhole like a bullet and went straight down Peeves's left nstril; he whirled upright and zoomed away, cursing.

"Cool, sir!" Dean praised in amazement.

"Thank you, Dean," Lupin responded, "Shall we proceed?"

We reached the staffroom and Lupin ushered us inside, where only Professor Snape was sitting.

Snape got to his feet and walked to the door, "Just a warning, Professor Lupin. Watch out for Miss Johnson, as she is liable to bite you at the slightest provocation. And also watch out for Mr. Longbottom, as entrusting him with anything difficult leads to failure unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear."

Neville, Hermione and I went identical shades of scarlet.

"I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation," Lupin responded with raised eyebrows, "And I am sure he will perform admirably. And secondly, I don't think I shall have to worry about Maggie's biting problem."

"No, I'm sure _you_ won't," and Snape was gone.

"Now, then," Lupin continued, beckoning the class to the end of the room where the old wardrobe that held the teacher's robes sat, where I had once hidden with Harry and Neville. The wardrobe gave a sudden shudder, wobbling and hanging off the wall.

"Nothing to worry about. There's a boggart in there," Lupin explained.

Everyone immediately looked at the wardrobe in terror, though I had no idea what a Boggart was.

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces. Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks - I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. _This_ one move din yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice. It's unknown why it moved in here, but usually boggarts enjoy lodging themselves in places near or directly in where immense fear occurred. Can anyone explain why?" Lupin asked.

_Well, I know why it chose here, then._ Harry and Neville looked at me out the corner of their eyes and we all smirked a little weakly at each other. Yes, I would say that hearing one of my friends was about to be killed by a giant snake monster was _very _frightening in that wardrobe.

Hermione, meanwhile, had raised her hand to answer Lupin's question.

"Well, a boggart is a shape-shifter – it takes the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most, so it seeks out fear on purpose."

"Couldn't have put it better myself," Lupin praised, causing Hermione's cheeks to glow with pride, "So the boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears. This means that we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?"

Harry shuffled in his spot and tried to ignore Hermione's eagerness next to him as he reasoned, "Er – because there are so many of us, it won't know what it should be?"

"Precisely," Lupin nodded, making Hermione look a little disappointed as she lowered her hand, "It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a boggart. He becomes confused. Which should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a boggart make that very mistake – tried to frighten two people at once and turned into half a slug. Not remotely frightening. The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a boggart is _laughter_. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing. We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please… _riddikulus!_"

"Riddikulus!" we all said together.

"Good," Lupin smiled, "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville."

The wardrobe shook again, though Neville was shaking more. I wanted to reach out and comfort him but didn't dare as he stepped forward to Professor Lupin.

"Right, Neville. First things first: what would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?"

Neville mumbled something as we all stared at him expectantly.

"Didn't catch that, Neville, sorry," Professor Lupin responded cheerfully.

Neville looked back at me with wide eyes, took a deep breath, and whispered in a tone barely more than a whisper, "Professor Snape."

Everyone laughed, including me, including Neville. Professor Lupin seemed to be thinking.

"Professor Snape… hmm… Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?" Lupin asked.

"Er, yes," Neville paused, "But I don't want the boggart to, you know, turn into her either."

"No, no, you misunderstood me," Lupin paused, "I wonder, could you tell us what sort of clothes your grandmother usually wears?"

Neville frowned, looking puzzled at the nature of the question, and answered, "Well, always the same hat, a tall one with a stuffed vulture on top. And a long dress. .. green, normally… and sometimes a fox-fur scarf."

"And a handbag?" Lupin furthered.

"A big red one," Neville nodded.

"Right then," Lupin paused, "Can you picture those clothes very clearly, Neville? Can you see them in your mind's eye?"

"Yes," Neville answered in confusion. He looked over his shoulder again and at me before turning back to Lupin.

"When the boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will assume the form of Professor Snape. And you will raise your wand – thus – and cry '_Riddikulus!_' – and concentrate hard on your grandmother's clothes. If all goes well, Professor Boggart Snape will be forced into that vulture-topped hat, and that green dress, with that big red handbag."

Everyone began laughing loudly.

"If Neville is successful, the boggart is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn. I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you the most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical…"

I frowned. What would scare me the most? What _actually_ scared me – not Lord Voldemort at the end of a corridor, not giant spiders, not giant snakes… what was it that _actually_ scared me…

I looked around and saw Harry and Hermione standing next to me, both frowning in their own concentration. Harry met my eyes and winked, making me laugh.

I remembered him writing on the floor of that compartment. I had thought (rather crazily) he was going to die. I remembered him on the floor of the Chamber, actually dying, how I had seized up inside with sadness and couldn't control it, it felt like I was dying with him…

Well, there it was. I knew immediately the boggart would turn into Harry, dead, on the floor.

_How… do I turn that into something funny?_ I thought in a panic. There was _no way_ to turn a dead Harry into something funny – unless I turned him into a dead… dead clown? No, that was sad. Dead anything was sad. Should I make him alive and tap-dancing again? That seemed like such a dramatic change, would it even work?

"Everyone ready?" Lupin called.

_Um, no_.

"Neville, we're going to back away. Let you have a clear field, alright? I'll call the next person forward… Everyone back, now, so Neville can get a clear shot…"

Neville watched us back away from him in terror, his eyes wide. He at least had a clear shot as to how to make Professor Snape funny. I had no clue. He mouthed 'help me' to me across the room and I grimaced in response.

"On the count of three, Neville," Professor Lupin ordered as Neville pushed up his robes and held out his wand, his face suddenly narrowing in determination, "One – Two – three – _now!_"

A jet of sparks shot from the end of Lupin's wand and hit the doorknob. The wardrobe burst open. Professor Snape stepped out, his eyes flashing at Neville angrily. Neville backed away, his wand up, mouthing in terror. I wanted to rush forward but, knowing what it would turn into, I let my cowardice nail my feet to the floor.

"_R – r – Riddikulus!_" Neville squeaked.

There was a noise like a whip crack. Snape stumbled and was suddenly wearing a bright green lace-trimmed dress and a huge hat with a vulture on it, holding a huge crimson handbag.

Despite the worry in the back of my head, keeping in mind how Snape had screamed at me earlier, I couldn't help but laugh at this so much that my sides hurt.

"Parvati! Forward!" Lupin called.

Parvati walked forward. Snape turned to her, there was another large crack, and where he stood was a blood-stained, bandaged mummy. It began walking towards Parvati, she raised her wand and cried, "_Riddikulus!_"

The bandage unraveled at the mummy's feet, it became entangled and fell face forward, the head rolling off.

"Seamus!"

_Crack!_ The mummy turned into a woman with long black hair and a skeletal face – a banshee. An unearthly sound, a shriek, filled the room and Seamus shouted, "_Riddikulus!_" The banshee made a rasping noise, clutching her throat, her voice was gone.

"Siobhan!"

_Crack!_ The banshee turned into a rat, which chased its tail in a circle.

"Lavender!"

_Crack!_ The banshee turned into a rattlesnake, which slithered and writhed before become suddenly one of those party favors that exploded into a long paper column when you opened the can.

"Excellent! Dean!" Lupin shouted.

_Crack!_ The party favor became a severed hand, which flipped over and began to creep along the floor like a crab.

"_Riddikulus!_"

The hand was trapped in a mousetrap with a snap.

"Excellent! Ron, you next!"

Ron stepped forward. _Crack!_ Everyone screamed as a giant spider, six feet tall, began advancing on Ron. I had Forest flashbacks as Ron raised his wand and shouted, "_Riddikulus!_" The spider's legs vanished; it rolled over and over.

"Wonderful! Maggie, you next!"

_Shit._

I was already shaking as I stepped forward to the roly-poly spider. I raised my wand, ready, as _Crack!_

Harry was sitting on the floor, lifeless, his face paler than the moon, a trickle of blood coming down from his head through his hair, his glasses cracked and askew, him spread – eagled everywhere. A scream was let out in the back of the room at the sight.

I tried to not cry as I gasped out, "_R – R – Riddikulus!_"

But rather than turning into something funny, Harry became Hermione, turned over on her side, her mouth gaping open. There was even more shouting in the back as I finally sobbed and cried, "_R – R – Riddikulus!_" Hermione became Neville, face down, blood pooling around his head. I fell down and began sobbing uncontrollably as I raised my wand and tried to do it again, but I couldn't even get the words out now.

"Here, here," Lupin interjected. His voice was extraordinarily kind as he stepped in front of me. The moment he did so, _Crack!_ Neville vanished and a silvery-white orb hung in the air in front of Lupin, who shouted "_Riddikulus!_"

_Crack!_ The moon turned into a balloon and zoomed in the air.

Lupin turned and saw Harry and Hermione ready to take their turns, but turned to Neville instead, "Forward, Neville, and finish him off!" _Crack! _Snape was back. Neville walked forward, a determined look on his face, as he shouted, "_Riddikulus!_" Snape was briefly in his lacy dress before Neville laughed "HA!" in his face and the boggart exploded into a thousand whisps of smoke and was gone.

"Excellent!" Proessor Lupin shouted, making no reference to my meltdown and how I hadn't left the floor, "Excellent, Neville. Well done, everyone… let me see… five points to Gryffindor for every person who faced the boggart – ten for Neville because he did it twice… and five each to Hermione and Harry for answering my questions correctly at the start of class. Excellent lesson, everyone. Homework, please read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it for me, to be handed in on Monday. That will be all. Miss Johnson, if you will follow me back into my office."

Everyone began murmuring and left the classroom as I followed behind Lupin, wiping off the tears from my eyes, purposely looking away from Harry, Hermione, and Neville. I knew that after Neville it wouldn't stop – Ginny would have followed, George, Fred, my parents, Elena, Snape, it would just have kept going. I could never make anything funny out of it.

We entered Lupin's office and I sat down across from him. He pulled out a mug from inside his desk and waved his wand – suddenly, hot chocolate was inside of it.

"Drink it," he smiled kindly. I did so, feeling the warmth of the beverage fill me up in all corners.

"I… I'm sorry," I murmured softly.

"Why are you sorry?" Lupin smiled even more kindly still, "That is a very mature fear to have, Miss Johnson."

I looked up at him in shock.

"Your classmates all fear what they should fear – the little things that just creep them out in the worst way because they don't fully understand that thing. Even Neville's. But you understand your fear perfectly; you don't fear the unknown, you fear loss. And not the loss of your own life or the loss of money or property, but the loss of love. That is a very mature fear to have," Lupin explained kindly.

I sniffled and finished the rest of the hot chocolate.

"I've been like that with Harry since I can remember," I whispered, "Even in first year… there was this mirror, it showed us our deepest desire… I just saw all of us, grown up, laughing and talking and healthy and happy."

"Of course you did," Lupin reassured, "I remember your mother writing to me when you were little. You and Harry always went out exploring in those woods near your house. They aren't _as_ magical as the Forbidden Forest, of course, but they were still filled with all sorts of dangers."

"Yeah…" I didn't see how that connected.

"You got through all that fear of the unknown stage when you were very, very young. Most children are sheltered from it, so by the time they're your age they still fear it. But you went out there at the age of five – I remember this letter – dragging Harry with you, he was only four, and you two jumped into a lake and dove to the bottom before going back up. I mean, the only way you survived was because you were wizards, but still. You were still so young that you hadn't been _taught_ to fear the unknown, so you just dove right into it and scoffed at fearing it later. Now you fear what you know you don't want to happen, something that you are aware of and _know_, but would do anything to stop," Lupin smiled.

I nodded, remembering vaguely my daft idea to go diving into a lake.

"It's not a crime to love, Maggie."

I smiled weakly and nodded.

"Though, you realize, Professor Snape will be hearing about this for your… counseling… sessions," Lupin was smirking a little now.

"Oh, _great_," I groaned.

"You may go now, but if you ever need to talk to someone who has a little more kindness than Professor Snape…"

"Yeah, I'll remember," I laughed, leaving his office and going back to Gryffindor Tower. Inside, Harry, Hermione, and Neville were sitting at a table and doing their homework. I braced myself for the comfort I didn't really feel like receiving as I sat down at my usual spot and pulled out my Ancient Runes books to memorize anglo-saxon words.

"Hey Maggie," Hermione murmured.

"Hello," I responded calmly, translating words onto flashcards.

"How are you feeling?" Harry asked.

"Fine," I responded again, clearly trying to ignore their attempts at concern.

"Come on, guys, if she doesn't want to talk about it she doesn't have to," Neville interjected. I looked up at last at him as Hermione and Harry sighed and turned back to their own work.

_"Thank You_" I mouthed at Neville. He smiled and nodded, reaching under the table to pat my knee a couple of times before turning back to his Arithmancy homework.

Even though my first lesson with him had gone terribly awry, I agreed with the rest of the school that Lupin was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we had ever had. The entire student body – with the exception of some Slytherins – loved his lessons and they quickly became their favorite. After boggarts, indeed, we learned about Red Caps, little goblin-like creatures that lurked where there had been bloodshed, then we learned about kappas, water dwellers that looked like scaly monkeys that strangled unwitting waders into ponds.

In the meantime, I had not only my usual classes, in which Ancient Runes and Arithmancy were particular time drainers, but my two 'extracurriculars,' as it were. McGonagall had me reading every evening another passage from an Animagus how-to book before she would let me continue on with the transformation potion. I had to finish all five books she had on the subject before I could actually get started. I was wishing she hadn't found out, but I knew in the back of my head that I would have mucked it up without her help and gotten myself permanently transfigured into a wild crocodile or something.

Snape's counseling, on the other hand, could never be classified as such. Immediately after the boggart incident, he gave me an essay.

"I want you to write your mourning process," Snape ordered as I sat down in his office the day after the incident.

"What?" I asked in shock. I was more expecting a lecture on how I had bitten Malfoy. The rumors had grown around the school and the new crop of first years officially called me "The Biter." But I ignored them for the most part.

"I want you to write out exactly what you will do, beginning with mourning Potter, to full recovery, if Potter were to die. It has no length requirement, but be thorough. That's all," Snape nodded, excusing me to leave.

So I wrote the essay, but he wasn't happy with it.

"This has to be _universal_. You have clearly tailored your writing to a violent death of Potter. It has to apply in _all_ situations – for all we know, Potter could live to an old age and die of natural causes, but before you. It has to be _universal_. Do it again."

So I wrote it again, and once again, he was unhappy with it.

"Now you're writing for a happy death for Potter. You and I both know that the odds of him having one of these are very very small. _Use your head, Miss Johnson._ Universal!"

Again, I wrote the damn essay. We were approaching the end of October by this point.

"_No. You're doing it **wrong**. Again!_"

I hated writing this stupid essay, because it kept making me live through the reality that Harry would one day die, again and again and again.

While I wasted al my full time on these two endless activities, I found myself unable to spend time with the Twins like I used to, especially on top of my extra coursework. They didn't even have the chance to _ask_ me to go on adventures, as I was hardly ever in the Common Room – it was hard to hide that I was reading Animagus books in the Common Room, so I found a dark corner of the library where no one would bother me.

As I walked through the corridor coming back from the library one evening, having written my essay for the millionth time, I saw George at the end of the hallway. He looked moderately uncomfortable and was talking to someone.

"Yeah, well, she's been very busy I expect…" I heard George say.

"Oh yes, she takes all those mentally difficult classes, doesn't she?" I heard the unmistakable voice of Siobhan from my year answer.

_Siobhan? What is George doing with Siobhan? _I thought in horror.

"Yeah… She's clever, Maggie is."

_Why are they talking about me?_

"At least she isn't suffocating you two all the time like she used to."

"I wouldn't… call it that."

"You three would always hang about – but I remember, you were friends with that Lee Jordan kid. What happened to him, eh?"

"He's still our mate – we just have different interests…"

"What _are_ your interests, George?"

The tone of Siobhan's voice made me want to claw her eyes out. It was soft and alluring and clearly flirtatious. I felt anger bubble to my chest.

"Well, I mean, pranking's the main one, really," George responded. He sounded uncomfortable, but he was still _talking_ to her.

_Oh no._ I quickly fled in the opposite direction of where I had to be, hit with a ton of bricks. Of _course_ George would _never_ like me, that was a silly and stupid idea. Why he would entertain Siobhan was another question, but it was clear he didn't fancy _me_. Silly me.

In the meantime, my friends in my year filled up their time with obviously different activities than me. Hermione, who was taking _all_ the electives, was constantly and consistently swamped with homework. Neville had both his continued work with Professor Sprout in the greenhouses and he didn't understand Arithmancy as readily as me and Hermione; though he was doing well, he had to put in a _lot_ more work to do so. And Harry had his constant Quidditch Practices, as the team Captain, Oliver Wood, had this last season to win the Cup. And in the meantime, Hermione didn't bring up once her crush on Harry, making me relieved – no other subject made me feel _quite_ so uncomfortable.

Close to the end of October, an announcement was put on the notice board. The first Hogsmeade weekend was coming up, on Halloween in fact.

"Excellent," I sighed when I saw it. Harry nodded mournfully next to me.

Hermione looked at us in sadness, "Harry, I'm sure you'll be able to go next time," she murmured, "They're bound to catch Black soon. He's been sighted once already."

"Black's not going to try anything in Hogsmeade, that's mental," Neville reassured, "Maybe McGonagall will let you go if you ask, guys…"

"No," I sighed, "We'll wait a bit."

Neville looked downtrodden at my defeatist attitude.

Ron was in the Common Room at this time, sitting near where we were, feeding his ugly old rat the tonic he had picked up in Diagon Alley. Hermione was also petting Crookshanks at the time, who was actually not too bad of a cat when he wasn't on edge for some reason.

But Crookshanks had seen Ron and his rat and hissed in fury. Ron looked up in shock just as Crookshanks leapt across the Common Room and attacked him. He stumbled backward, shouting in protest, holding Scabbers close to him.

"GRANGER!" he roared as Hermione ran forward and collected the bright orange cat, "GET THAT BLOODY BEAST AWAY FROM ME AND MY PET!"

Hermione glared at him, "Weasley, it's perfectly natural for a cat to chase a rat –"

"THAT CAT IS A MENACE! IT SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED!" Ron roared. The entire Common Room was watching the proceedings now.

"Maybe you should keep your rat out of Crookshanks' range," Hermione suggested icily.

"He has a right to the Common Room as much as anyone! Train your bloody tiger!" Ron snapped, walking up to the boy's dormitory. Hermione sat down back at her spot and said nothing the rest of the evening.

On Halloween, Harry and I felt thoroughly downtrodden as the rest of our classmates eagerly awaited their trip to Hogsmeade.

"It's not that exciting," George tried to reassure next to me. I had distanced myself from him since the conversation I had overheard between him and Siobhan, and needless to say, he was confused as such. Fred seemed unbelievably pleased, however, which confused me greatly.

"We'll sneak you out sometime, alright?" Fred hissed in my ear when Harry was talking to Hermione, "Not today, that would be too obvious, but we'll sneak you out."

"Harry, too, or no deal," I snapped back. Fred nodded and went back to his toast.

"I'd say we'd bring back Butterbeer, but I feel that is a can of worms not to be opened," George laughed. I managed a weak smile in response.

"We'll bring you loads of sweets back from Honeydukes," Neville offered. Hermione nodded eagerly next to him.

"Thanks, guys," Harry smiled in response.

Harry and I went over to the library to get some homework done – well, I was finally finishing book three of the five Animagus books, but I had hidden it underneath the cover of my Arithmancy book so Harry wouldn't see what I was actually studying. Harry was working on his potions essay with a grimace as we sat there in the library together.

"Harry, Maggie," a kind voice rang out. We looked up to see Professor Lupin standing above us. I quickly shut my book, as from that angle it would become painfully obvious that the diagrams were of people transforming into animals and not of complex number theory.

"Would you like to have tea with me in my office?" Lupin offered, "I understand how lonely this day must be for you two and I thought I'd come to help cheer you up a bit."

We looked at each other and nodded in acceptance.

"Excellent," Lupin smiled, "Come, come."

As we went up to his office, Lupin explained, "I just received the grindylow for the next lesson – it's a water demon." We entered and he pointed to a large tank of water in which sat a sickly green creature with sharp little horns, looking at us eagerly as we sat down across from Lupin.

"We shouldn't have much trouble with him, not after the kappas. The trick is to break his grip. You two notice the abnormally long fingers? Strong, but very brittle," Lupin furthered. He then took the kettle from the small fire behind his desk and poured hot water into two cups, handing us tea bags kindly.

"Now, anything worrying you two?" Lupin asked as we all sat down and began sipping at our tea.

I shook my head, knowing my only real worry at the moment – that George was going to start dating _Siobhan_, of all people – wasn't exactly what Lupin was getting at.

"Yes," Harry, however, answered. I looked at him in mild shock.

"You know the day we fought the boggart?" he asked. I groaned internally.

"Yes," Lupin answered slowly.

"Why didn't you let me fight it?" Harry continued. _Oh, good. He's not bringing up my meltdown._

"I would have thought that was obvious, Harry," Lupin answered in surprise.

Harry, looking shocked, responded, "Why?"

"Well," Lupin was frowning now, "I assumed that if the boggart faced you, it would assume the shape of Lord Voldemort."

Harry and I both looked at Lupin in shock. Besides ourselves, the only person we had heard say Lord Voldemort's name without fear was Professor Dumbledore.

"Clearly, I was wrong," Lupin was frowning at Harry. I frowned too; I would have assumed that answer as well, but since the look on Harry's face clearly said that this was incorrect, I tried to think of what Harry _would_ fear the most –

"But I didn't think it a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialize in the staffroom. I imagined… well, after your class began panicking after Maggie's boggart, well, I imagined it would only get worse," Lupin finished.

"I didn't think of Voldemort," Harry answered honestly, taking a deep breath and continuing, "I – I – I remembered the dementors."

"I see…" Lupin paused thoughtfully while I kicked myself for not figuring that out, "Well… I'm as impressed with you as I was with Maggie here. Both of you show a maturity in your fears beyond your young years."

Harry and I frowned at Lupin.

"Well you see, the fact that you fear dementors suggests that what you fear most of all, Harry, is fear itself. That is very wise," Lupin nodded.

Harry and I both drank more tea, unable to really say anything. Though I, too, was very impressed by Harry.

"So you've been thinking that I didn't believe you capable of fighting the boggart?" Lupin asked.

_Like me._

"Well, yeah," Harry answered, but his voice as a lot more cheerful.

"Professor…" I paused. He looked at me kindly.

"Yes, Maggie?"

"Will… will I _ever_ be able to face a boggart?" I asked calmly, "Even if… Even if somehow, I didn't start sobbing all over the floor… I don't think I could ever come up with something funny for that."

Lupin opened his mouth to answer me when a loud knock issued on the door.

"Come in!" Lupin answered.

The door opened and Snape entered, carrying a goblet that was faintly smoking. He stopped at the sight of us, puzzled as to whether to narrow his eyes at Harry or remain the same to me.

"Ah, Severus," Lupin smiled, "Thank you very much. Could you leave it here on the desk for me?"

Snape set down the smoking goblet, looking between the three of us.

"I was just showing Harry and Maggie my grindylow," Lupin explained pleasantly, pointing at the tank.

"Fascinating," Snape responded, "You should drink that directly, Lupin."

"Yes, yes, I will."

"I made an entire cauldronful," Snape continued, "If you need more."

"I should probably take some again tomorrow, thanks very much, Severus."

"Not at all," and Snape left the room. Lupin turned back to us, explaining, "Professor Snape has very kindly concocted a potion for me. I have never been much of a potion-brewer and this one is particularly complex. I've been feeling a bit off-color, you see, and this potion is the only thing that helps. Now, back to your question, Maggie," Lupin paused, "As you know, Professor Snape _is_ trying to help you with that."

"I still don't see how I can turn it into something funny –"

"Once you know how to deal with it, Maggie, the humor will come to you. Besides, when you are ready, Snape will tell me that you've reached the proper point where _I_ will help you with that."

I nodded calmly. Harry opened his mouth too, but closed it again.

"Something on your mind, now, Harry?" Lupin asked kindly, "I'm afraid I must go back to work soon…"

Harry frowned, thinking, and then responded, "No, professor, not now."

"Alright, well I will see you two at the feast," Lupin smiled as we left his office.

That afternoon, Neville and Hermione came up to us in the Common Room just as I finished the third Animagus book, closing it with a feeling of great triumph.

"Here we are," Neville beamed, pulling out a huge bag and dumping it all over our homework, "We just bought a bag of everything."

The table was now littered with brightly colored sweets from Honeydukes.

"Thanks," Harry beamed, "What's Hogsmeade like? Where did you go?"

It sounded like they had literally gone everywhere – Dervish and Banges, Zonko's, and the Three Broomsticks, as well as the post office. They kept talking eagerly about all the places they had gone to, and as I had only really been to the Three Broomsticks, envy filled me from the inside at their joy.

"What did you do?" Hermione asked suddenly, looking embarrassed at their gushing, "Did you get any work done?"

"Some," Harry and I answered together.

"Though we were in Lupin's office for a while, we had tea," Harry added on.

Hermione checked her watch, "Well, we'd better get down to the Great Hall, the feast'll be starting soon."

We all walked down together to the Great Hall and sat at the Gryffindor table. Fred and George were already there and George threw a package at me.

"A present for your sorry state of inability to go to Hogsmeade," George explained. I opened it and found a Zonko's prank on the inside – one miniature flying creature for every day of a month that you would enlarge with magic and it would follow your enemy around, constantly, and usually shrieking to boot.

"Excellent," I beamed at George. He smiled back. Siobhan immediately entered and sat next to him, and I could hear her say to Fred, "Wasn't that fun in Zonko's today? I _did_ enjoy the slingshot prank, that was a good one…"

George immediately entered the conversation and talked to Siobhan on the subject. Hermione across from me grimaced in sympathy, and I realized that even if I hadn't told her about it, Hermione was the queen of perception and was completely aware of my crush on George.

We all stuffed ourselves with the food of the feast, me enjoying excessively all the pumpkin flavored things. Harry was extremely entertained by the ghosts' flying formation that served as entertainment. When we were all good and stuffed, all the Gryffindors got up and went up to the tower together, laughing and talking amiably. But the crowd seemed to stop outside the portrait hole.

"Why aren't we going in?" I asked in confusion.

Harry peered above the heads of the crowd, as Percy Weasley began badgering his way through it.

"Let me through, please," he called, "What's the holdup here? You can't _all_ have forgotten the password – excuse me, I'm Head Boy…"

And then silence fell over the crowd. Percy said, very sharply, "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore, Quickly."

"What's going on?" Ginny asked behind me. I shook my head in confusion.

"Oh, shooting tomorrow?" she asked me cheerfully. I grinned at her and nodded.

Professor Dumbledore arrived a moment later, sweeping to the portrait. Harry, Hermione and I moved closer to see what had happened as Neville and Ginny talked behind us.

"Oh, my –" Hermione gasped, grabbing Harry's arm. The Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait, which had been slashed viciously with strips of canvas littering the floor.

Dumbledore looked at the portrait in shock and turned to Professor McGonagall, Lupin, and Snape hurrying towards him.

"We need to find her," Dumbledore ordered, "Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."

"You'll be lucky!" Peeves cackled above us. We all looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean, Peeves?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"Ashamed, Your Headship, sir," Peeves answered in the most respectful tone he could manage, "Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful, poor thing."

"Did she say who did it?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

"Oh yes, Professorhead," Peeves nodded, "He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see… Nasty temper he's got, Sirius Black."

I turned to Harry with wide, panicked eyes as everyone around us panicked and some of the girls even started shrieking. I held onto his arm as did Hermione on his other side, both of us looking at him as though he was already dead.

"All Gryffindors, go back to the Great Hall, immediately. Professors, go gather your houses and bring them there as well," Dumbledore ordered.

Harry looked rather shocked as we all went downstairs and entered, the other houses looking fairly confused.

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle," Dumbledore announced as McGonagall and Flitwick closed all the doors to the hall and pushed aside the tables with magic. "I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately. Send word with one of the ghosts."

He waved his wand and the floor was covered with hundreds of squashy purple sleeping bags.

"Sleep well," Dumbledore announced as he left the hall.

"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" Percy shouted, "Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!"

I climbed into a sleeping bag in between Harry and Neville. Harry had his back turned to me; he was facing Hermione. I could see that they were looking at each other and Hermione was holding Harry's hand. I wanted to point out that she couldn't be more obvious, but when I realized I would probably do the same thing, I didn't say anything or even think it in seriousness. I got up to get a drink of water and saw that Harry wasn't really saying anything or even looking at her, but looking down at the ground and trying to not convey how scared he actually was. Hermione looked concerned and something glistened in the corner of her eye, like a tear.

I crawled back into my sleeping bag and looked at Neville. He turned on his side to face me.

"How do you think he got in?" I asked calmly.

"We can discuss it in the morning, Maggie," Neville murmured in response. I knew he knew how shaken up I actually was about this as he continued, "Get some sleep, alright?"

He reached out and, in a way that made me shiver a little with surprise, tucked the hair back behind my ear before rolling back over and closing his eyes. I did the same, seeing that Harry and Hermione had also, and tried to fall asleep.

AN: Sorry for the very Maggie-centric chapter. The next one really isn't; I sort of smushed a lot of the defining moments of Maggie's third year into one chapter. Pretty much from this point it's Harry-centric again, well as much as it can be from Maggie's POV. I hope you all enjoyed it, at any rate; sorry it took so long to get here, I found a new game for my tablet again and became moderately distracted, to say the least. And for those of you who protest at Maggie trying to become an Animagus in her third year - that was when the Marauders did it to be with Lupin, according to the books, they just didn't finish before fifth year or so; and she has help. It was always part of the plan to make her an Animagus.

Shout Out Time! Thank you to ZX7-495, Fatty Corpuscle, Whitestar2000, and King Harrison for favoriting/following this story - I hope you can leave me a review to let me know what you think! And thank you SO MUCH to my reviewers, Viola Potterhead Girl, rangerhero, magical fan18, DreamCatcher1991, Guest, Edmond O'Donald, and puncher71 for your reviews! They always make my day and I look forward to your reviews for the newest chapter.

Please review guys!


	20. Ch 19: November 1 – December 18, 1993

Chapter Nineteen: November 1 – December 18, 1993, Hogwarts

All anyone could talk about afterwards was how Sirius Black had gotten into the castle. No one was able to find him afterwards, not anywhere.

"You can't apparate into the castle – you know, disappear and reappear instantaneously –" Hermione explained as we walked to our first class the Monday after Halloween, "There are enchantments that stop you. And he could have taken floo powder, and there's no way he snuck in just by walking. Truth be told, I'm clueless."

When we left the class, Hermione had disappeared as always, so I doubled back to talk to Harry. He looked just as confused as I did at Hermione's absence.

"What was with the whole holding – hands – with – Hermione – thing?" I asked cheekily, digging for my friend a little bit, and also genuinely curious.

"I dunno," Harry paused, shrugging, "She asked me if I was okay, and I didn't respond, so she asked if I needed anything and… I dunno. You were busy and I'm so used to just holding your hand…"

"Understood," I laughed.

In the meantime, the Fat Lady's canvas was taken off the wall and replaced with the portrait of Sir Cadogan, a neurotic little knight who was crazy enough to take the job on the back of his fat little gray pony. He was evidently the only portrait brave enough to do the guarding and spent most of his time challenging people to duels, and the rest thinking up ridiculous passwords that made Neville almost burst into tears, with his poor memory.

Harry, however, didn't worry about this much. He was almost constantly followed by teachers and Percy Weasley. Professor McGonagall had Madam Hooch supervising his Quidditch Matches due to the exposure of the occasion.

I saw out on the Grounds with Neville and Hermione, reading my fourth Animagus book with the cover of one of my Ancient Runes books slipped neatly over it. It was getting more and more complicated now and I had to take a lot of notes in the margins and on pieces of parchment. The weather was getting progressively worse; the wind ran through the trees and the grassy with an icy chill that I rather enjoyed. Hermione, on the other hand, insisted on her jar of blue flames.

I looked up to see the Quidditch team heading back from the pitch, all in their red and gold Quidditch robes, all shivering to some extent as they walked. Remembering George and his increased cavorting with _Siobhan_, I didn't jump up eagerly as I once would have.

George, Fred, and Harry, however, came up to talk to us on their own steam.

"Well, we're playing Hufflepuff, not Slytherin, in Saturday's match," Harry began in irritation, "Malfoy is still faking his injury so Flint got them to switch it – but it's obvious why they are…"

"Don't like the weather, we reckon. Little prat," Fred spat.

"And the Hufflepuff's have got a new Captain and Seeker, Cedric Diggory; real pretty boy, he is," Geroge scowled.

"Seriously; Angelina, Alicia and Katie all burst into giggles at the mention of his name," Fred shook his head sadly.

"I know who you're talking about," Hermione was frowning, "He's a little too blonde for my tastes… not to mention, he's very overrated."

_Blonde. Ha. You'd never go for a blonde boy_, I thought in amusement.

"What do you think, Maggie?" George asked.

_Why do you care?_

"He's good looking," I shrugged nonchalantly. I could see that Neville had set down his Potions books as I continued, "I'm not going to deny it."

"But… you wouldn't want to date Cedric Diggory, would you?" Neville asked, "I mean, he's a Prefect and everything – not really… you…"

"I don't actually _know_ him, I've just seen him around school. But I always keep my options open," I replied airily for George's benefit as I raised my book back to my face, trying to understand a complicated diagram.

"He's terrible for you," George responded firmly. I raised my eyebrows so he could see the act but didn't actually look at him again.

"I think I can decide that for myself, thanks," I replied. Harry's expression during the exchange was priceless; his eyebrows were raised and he simply looked befuddled that I could conceive of dating anyone at all. Hermione was clearly trying not to laugh, her face stretched in a smile as she buried her head in the Arithmancy book. Fred was scowling in irritation, or at least that's how I interpreted it. Neville looked downtrodden, which confused me, and George looked rightly appalled.

"But… _Diggory? Really?_"

"George," I responded, putting my book back in my lap, "I am trying to study some complex stuff here, and these are nonsensical questions. Diggory doesn't even know I _exist_, I'm not dating material anyway, and we'd never work in the long run; but he _is_ attractive and I'm _always_ up for trying anything once. So if you please, I need to get back to this."

George was frowning and responded, "Who said you aren't dating material?"

"I dunno," I snapped back, looking up in anger again, "Maybe you and Fred, last year, when I got that stupid Cupid Valentine from someone – I _still_ don't know who – and insisted you'd never send it because why on _Earth_ would you _ever_ like _me_. Now can I _read, please_?"

"I didn't… Fred –"

"Yeah, we said that, but we meant for us," Fred suddenly interjected. He had one of the most determined faces I had ever seen on.

George looked back at Fred and was glaring now. I had never seen the two of them fight, _ever_. Now Harry was _completely_ baffled and Hermione was having more trouble giggling. Neville had buried his face in his book again.

"Alright, I clearly can't study here," I sighed, packing my book and standing up, "See you guys later." I reentered the castle and found my corner of the library, but I was so angry my quill broke through the parchment I was writing notes on. The ink bled all over the table and I looked around wildly for Madam Pince, praying to God that she wouldn't think I was vandalizing on purpose.

I got up and went back to the Gryffindor Tower, and I saw Siobhan walking through the corridor, for the millionth time, with George. The sight made me want to _scream._

"How was Quidditch Practice?"

"… Fine."

"You seem tense, is everything alright?"

"… Yeah. Everything's fine. Just… had a row, that's all."

"Oh? Was it bad?"

"I dunno. I rowed with two different people, you see."

"Who?"

"Well… I reckon that… well, they're two people I'm very close to."

"Oh… At the same time?"

"For the most part. I rowed with one of them more so after the row with the first one… I know I've pissed the second one off a lot but I have no idea how, or why, or how much I've pissed off the first one."

"Anything I can do to help? I'm sure you were in the right."

"I don't think I was, Siobhan."

I felt my fists clench and I wanted to throw something, break something, claw at something with my fingernails. Hearing him say her bloody _Christian name_ was enough to make me _roar_.

"I'm sure you're just feeling guilty –"

"Of _course_ I am, I did something _wrong_. Look, I'll talk to you later, okay? I've got to talk to one of them."

"But –"

"_Bye_."

I hid behind a suit of armor as George turned around and stomped right past me, Siobhan returning to the Gryffindor Common Room. I waited an appropriate amount of time before shoving over the Suit with at roar of fury, causing all the pieces to scatter all over the floor of the corridor and one even sliding down to the other end, and immediately running in the opposite direction away from it, trying to get as far away from the scene of the crime as possible.

The day before Harry's big match, I knew I had to get over myself. I should never have expected George to reciprocate my feelings; he was much older than me and thought of me as his little sister, his _prodigy_ for Merlin's sake. I was avoiding him and ruining my friendship with him and Fred due to my own selfishness. Not to mention, I was no longer channeling my anger through pranking and had gone back to violence; if things carried on, I'd probably end up strangling Malfoy.

I sat at the Breakfast table across from them and took a piece of toast. George looked at me in shock, as I had refused to talk to him since the argument.

"How are you, Maggie? Finally not swamped again?" Fred asked jovially, as though there was nothing wrong.

I sighed, "Well, I still haven't finished Snape's bloody Mourning-Harry essay, but I am getting through my reading and I should be less swamped soon."

"Back to the old pranking team?" Fred furthered.

I grinned at him, still not looking at George, "Yeah, I reckon so."

"Excellent. Come on, we're the only things standing between you and bloody murder, literally," Fred responded cheekily. I flicked a piece of toast at him and he laughed.

"Hey Maggie, can I talk to you in the corridor for a second?" George asked. I looked up at him and nodded. We left to the Entrance Hall and I crossed my arms in front of my chest reflexively, but he reached out and held my right upper arm with his left hand.

"I'm sorry if I offended you, Maggie," George began. His hair had gotten obscenely long; he needed to cut it so that he could see through his bangs.

I was trying this whole thing where I thought of his flaws and not his good qualities.

"Don't worry about it –" I began calmly.

"Look, it was rude, okay? I have no right to… to criticize who you do or do not like or date or whatever," George seemed to struggle getting that statement out.

"No, you don't," I agreed calmly, "Why do you even _care_?"

"I – why wouldn't I – well –" George spluttered, "I'm your friend, aren't I?"

"One of my closest, yes," I answered, still more calm than him despite the fact he hadn't let go of my arm.

"Then I have a right to care about who do you do and do not date," George shrugged, "Just, looking out for you, that's all. Wouldn't want to see you get hurt, would I?"

I managed a small smile, "Thanks, though you know I can take care of myself."

"Oh, trust me, I know," George paused, "But I can't help it."

"Well, thank you, again," I nodded, "You just may have overreacted a bit."

"And that's what I'm sorry for," George nodded. We stood awkwardly for a moment and George finally let go of my arm.

"I mean, I wouldn't criticize _you_ on who _you_ like, would I?" I continued, feeling cheeky now.

"Right, because I would like anyone right now," George grimaced.

"I mean, I've noticed you spending an _awful_ lot of time with someone," I joked. George looked panicky, his eyes opening wide.

"I – I – I," he stammered.

"She's even in my year, I mean if you wanted to get to know her you just had to ask," I continued, amazed at my tone of joviality.

"Wh – What –"

"Siobhan?" I inclined my head, genuinely confused at _his_ confusion, "You spend all your time with her, it seems like."

"_Siobhan_?" George responded in shock, "Right. I do, don't I?"

I elbowed him in the side, "It seems like you really like her. And she really likes you; she gushes in the Dormitory all the time."

She did, I wasn't lying; I just chose to ignore it by stuffing a pillow over my ears.

"She… does?" George was frowning.

"Yeah. You should definitely take advantage of this," I nodded. I was reaching the end of my faking-enthusiasm quota.

"… Right," George was frowning, though.

"Anyways, I've got to go, but I'll see you soon for pranking, alright?" I offered. George nodded, not saying anything, and I walked up the steps to the Grand Staircase, hastily wiping the tears from my eyes with my thumbs as I went.

Needless to say, I was happy to have Defense Against the Dark Arts that day; I needed a good lesson with a good professor. But when I entered, Professor Lupin wasn't there – it was Professor Snape.

"Where's Professor Lupin?" I asked as I sat down next to Hermione.

"He says he is feeling too ill to teach today," Snape replied with a smile. I looked at Hermione and she shrugged wordlessly. Neville, sitting behind us, looked equally confused.

Harry entered late and got points taken off, probably because he was being coached endlessly by Wood. Snape criticized Lupin endlessly, much to the general annoyance of my class. But finally, he got to actual subject matter.

"Today we will discuss werewolves," Snape ordered, "All of you, turn to page three-hundred and ninety four," he over pronounced, "_Now._"

We opened to the page that was far past where we were at with much muttering; I glared at Snape subtly, mentally communicating that I didn't have _time_ for extra work, thanks to him.

"Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?" Snape asked. Everyone sat in silence except Hermione, who raised her hand.

"Anyone?" Snape continued, ignoring Hermione, " Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasn't even taught you the basic distinction between –"

"We haven't _gotten _there yet," I snapped.

"_Silence!_" Snape ordered, "Well, well, well, I never thought I'd meet a third-year class who wouldn't even recognize a werewolf when they saw one. I shall make a point of informing Professor Dumbledore how very behind you all are…"

"Please sir," Hermione interjected for the second time, "the werewolf differs from the true wolf in several small ways. The snout of the werewolf –"

"That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger," Snape interrupted coolly, "Five points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all."

Hermione went red next to me and stared at the floor with her eyes full of tears. I reached over and gently held her arm as Harry and Neville sat in pure indignation behind me. We spent the rest of the class taking notes on werewolves in silence and were assigned an essay, two rolls of parchment long, on how to recognize a werewolf, which drove me _mental._ He _knew_ I had to write the _seventh draft_ of his _mental Mourning Harry essay_.

"I really hope Professor Lupin gets better soon," Hermione sighed as we left the classroom together, Harry nodding vigorously.

"I don't think I'll be able to take two classes with Snape," Neville muttered under his breath. I reached over and hugged him sideways while walking, before continuing to walk alongside him calmly.

The next morning I awoke to incessant rain pounding on my window. I went down to breakfast, terrified for Harry, and sat across from Neville calmly. The wind was horrific and it roared against the Great Hall, the sky a dark black above us in the ceiling. Hermione looked extremely concerned.

"Do you think they'll be able to fly? Maybe they should postpone the match…" Hermione murmured.

"Do you really think they'll do that, Hermione?" Neville rolled his eyes, "You know how people here about Quidditch. The only reason they'll postpone a match is because students have been petrified, evidently."

Hermione smiled weakly at his joke but still looked outside in concern. I shared her concern to the fullest.

We headed out, equipped with umbrellas enchanted so they wouldn't flip over in the wind and break. We stood out in the stands, and were immediately soaked within five minutes. I started shivering violently and Hermione had started doing so long before me.

"Alright," Neville shouted over the wind, "We huddle together for warmth."

I laughed slightly but knew he was right, so we all wrapped our arms around together and smooshed as tightly as we could together in the stands. The Match, when it finally started, found us shivering even more still thanks to the fact that there was only so much body heat we could share.

Harry flew everywhere around the field but I could immediately tell he couldn't see a damn thing with his glasses being attacked by water; I couldn't even hear Lee Jordan over the wind and the entire match just looked chaotic, with no one knowing where they were or where they were going. Finally, a whistle was sounded and I could just make out down on the ground Wood calling a time out.

"Wait, I have an idea," Hermione hissed, "You'll have to do without me, gents."

She rushed down the stands to the field as I stepped closer to Neville and prayed for Harry's safety. When Hermione returned, her cheeks were flushed, and not with cold.

"What happened?" I asked cheerfully, reintroducing her into the hug of warmth.

"Nothing, I just made Harry's glasses impervious to water, that's all," Hermione shrugged.

"Oh it's totally more than that," I teased.

Hermione scowled at me.

"What happened?" Neville was grinning next to me.

"So I kissed Harry on the cheek," Hermione hissed, "Maggie does it all the time."

Neville and I both laughed, though I was clearly laughing in amusement at Hermione's crush – I didn't know why _Neville_ was laughing. But when I turned to look at him, his face seemed to convey the same emotion, but directed at me.

"Wait, what are you laughing at…" Neville was frowning.

"Do you… know?" I asked.

"Do _you_?" Neville raised an eyebrow. There was a slight silence as Hermione stood next to us, smirking.

"She told me," I offered, "A while ago, now."

Neville nodded, "Well, I noticed. First off, I notice a lot with Hermione, she's basically my sister."

"Thanks Neville," Hermione responded cheerfully.

"Anytime," Neville responded, "Second off, come on, they were _so obvious_ Halloween night –"

"Oi!"

"I know, right?" I laughed.

"He doesn't fancy her yet, unfortunately," Neville shook his head sadly, "The day that happens…"

"We shall start plotting?"

"I thought that was obvious."

Hermione was scowling now as we both beamed innocently at her and turned back to watch the match again. Lightening was flashing brightly and thunder was sounding loudly near us. The weather was getting colder and colder, and now Neville, who was much taller than both Hermione and myself, had stepped behind us to wrap his arms around us and keep us warmer than him. As Harry zoomed towards the Snitch, though, the weather got even colder – a different, unnatural type of cold, and everything grew silent throughout the stands. An image flashed in front of my face again – Harry, dying, in the Chamber –

_OH SHIT_

I looked around wildly for the dementors, and Neville had began sobbing behind me, letting go of me and Hermione, and Hermione had her teeth clenched as we looked down to see a hundred dementors standing in the field. Harry on his broomstick grew limp, and he began plummeting to Earth, and Hermione and I were screaming in unison and in equal high pitch, and a voice boomed out over intercom a spell I didn't recognize, and I couldn't see through the terror that had filled me. I didn't need dementors; my worst memory was already here.

But the spell slowed Harry's approach to the ground and it looked like most of the staff were down on the field now. Dumbledore shot another spell, a silvery looking bird shooting out the end of his wand, driving all the dementors away.

"Come on," Neville urged, but Hermione and I were both frozen in place with horror.

"Girls, come _on_," Neville grunted, pulling us down with him to the field to finally reach Harry's side. Though he was spread eagled on the ground, his glasses were intact and he looked mostly okay. I couldn't see much through both the rain and my tears, though.

"We must get him to the Hospital Wing – move aside, move aside," Professor McGonagall urged. I moved aside, but I still followed him on the stretcher Professor Dumbledore had conjured, along with Neville and Hermione, to the Hospital Wing.

We sat there for a while; at one point, most of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, as well as Ron and Ginny Weasley, had entered and come to stand with us.

"We've got more bad news," Ron grunted irritably.

"This is the real kicker," Ginny sighed.

George held up a bag and shook his head sadly, "This is what remains of Harry's Nimbus 2000."

I felt my eyes widen despite their puffiness at crying so much.

"It flew into the Womping Willow – you know, that tree that attacks you if you get too close?" Fred asked, "We almost got walloped by it last year once, Maggie."

I nodded in understanding.

"My God, he loved that broom," Neville sighed.

"He's going to be devastated," Hermione whispered.

"I'm just glad he's okay," I murmured.

"Lucky the ground was so soft," Fred frowned.

"I was so convinced he was going to die," Ginny mumbled.

"But he didn't even break his glasses," Ron shook his head in amazement.

"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life," Hermione sighed.

Harry's eyes suddenly opened and he looked around at all of us in confusion. I immediately reached out and held his hand.

"Harry!" Fred shouted, looking very pale, "How're you feeling?"

"What – happened?" Harry whispered.

"You fell of," Fred explained, "Must've been – what – fifty feet?"

"We thought you'd died," Alicia whispered, who was shaking. Hermione made a small squeaky noise and I blew my nose in the hem of my shirt unashamedly.

"But the match," Harry insisted, "What happened? Are we doing a replay?"

_Awkward_

"We didn't – _lose_?"

Harry looked so downtrodden I just wanted to hug him, but that would be awkward at this angle.

"Diggory got the snitch," George admitted, "Just after you fell. He didn't realize what had happened. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a rematch. But they won fair and square… even Wood admits it"

"Where is Wood?" Harry asked, his features visibly sinking into sadness.

"Still in the showers," Fred sighed, "We think he's trying to drown himself."

Harry buried his face in his knees, scratching the back of his head with his hand. I reached out and touched his shoulder.

"Come on, Harry. You've never missed the Snitch before," I murmured, "There had to be one time you didn't get it, and it wasn't even your fault."

"Gryffindor can still come back from this," Ron offered.

"We lost by a hundred points," Fred agreed, "So if Hufflepuff loses to Ravenclaw and we beat Ravenclaw and Slytherin, though, Hufflepuff will have to lose by at least two hundred points."

"It all depends on the points – a margin of a hundred either way –" George nodded.

Harry frowned, "Alright… did someone get my broom?"

We all shuffled awkwardly.

"What?" Harry demanded.

"Well… when you fell off, it got blown away," Hermione whispered hesitantly.

"And?"

"And it hit – it hit – oh Harry, it hit the Whomping Willow…" Hermione whispered.

Harry looked crestfallen as he murmured, "And?"

"Well… the Womping Willow doesn't like being hit, much," Fred sighed.

"Professor Flitwick brought it back," Hermione murmured as she reached down for the bag and dumped all the little pieces of wood and twig onto the bed. Harry looked like his entire world had come crashing down, which broke my heart.

Eventually we were all ushered out of the room, but not before I gave Harry an awkward hug. I knew how this must have been killing him.

Whenever I visited Harry in the hospital wing that weekend, he seemed even more troubled than I had expected. I figured it was probably about the dementors as much as losing and losing his broomstick; but it seemed like there was more there he wasn't telling us.

When he returned to school, Draco Malfoy's taunting was merciless and, having foreseen this, Professor McGonagall made me throw myself into my Animagus work and Professor Snape made sure to keep us as separate as possible in Potions, a similar situation happening with Hagrid in Care of Magical Creatures.

Professor Lupin returned and taught a truly wonderful lesson on Hinkypunks, telling us that Snape's essay need not be handed in. Hermione, Neville and I left, but Harry stayed behind to talk to Lupin.

Hermione still looked rather shaken up about the weekend.

"He'll be OK, Hermione," I murmured in reassurance, "Seriously."

Hermione nodded and we ran into Fred and George in the hallway.

"Maggie! We need to talk to you, now," Fred nodded. I frowned at him and followed him and George into the next corridor as Hermione and Neville continued to walk back to the Great Hall for lunch.

"What's up?" I asked, frowning at them.

"The time has come!" Fred declared.

"We have practiced and tested ourselves and ensured that we are ready to give this to you," George clarified.

"We spent this whole term so far making sure we'd memorized everything, and we have definite proof that this is true," Fred explained.

"But now, it is your turn. Your turn to memorize it's every vagary and secret, in true Troublemaking tradition," George beamed.

"What _is_ it?" I laughed.

Fred pulled out an old piece of parchment I was very familiar with.

"The _Marauder's_ Map!" I gasped.

"Exactly," Fred beamed.

"And we reckon – just an idea – you could use it to get to Hogsmeade," George winked, "We have another weekend coming up for Christmas."

"You two are _brilliant_. But you know," I frowned, "I'm going to have to show it to Harry."

"It's yours now; you may do with it what you wish," Fred bowed.

"Alright," I laughed, "Thanks, guys. Seriously."

"Anytime. You know how to get to the Honeydukes passage, so we'll meet you by Zonko's," Fred beamed.

"Of course!" I laughed, "This is excellent. I'll keep it a surprise for Harry until the day of." I then impulsively hugged the both of them in an awkward fashion, as they were both a foot and a half taller than me, "Thank you guys."

"Oh no problem Maggie," Fred grinned.

"Anything for our prodigy," George smiled.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to go and see Professor Lupin about some homework we had," Fred paused.

"Remember that muggle movie Dad made us watch when he finally figured out how to work that telly?" George asked.

"Which _one_?" Fred rolled his eyes.

"Oh, it has a little song that I felt was appropriate," George winked at me and I laughed out loud.

"Wait a minute…" Fred frowned.

"Weeeeeeeeeeee'reeeeeeeeeee," George began, singing rather badly and waiting for Fred to join in.

Fred immediately linked his arm with George's, turned away from me, and continued, "Off to see the Wizard!"

They began skipping down the Corridor singing, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!"

I fell over laughing in the middle of the Corridor as I heard their singing trail all the way back to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

When it was finally time for the Hogsmeade visit, I immediately grabbed Harry and pulled him into an empty corridor on the third floor, ready for going to the statue of the one-eyed witch.

"Harry," I beamed, "I've got you a Christmas present a little early this year."

Harry frowned at me.

"Now, I have Fred and George to sneak me into places, and if I really need it I have asking-for-it rights, alright?" I clarified.

Harry nodded, still mute.

I pulled out the parchment and sang, "Ta-Da!"

Harry raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.

I took out my wand, pointed it at the Parchment and murmured, "_I Solemnly Swear that I am Up to No Good!_"

The Parchment thus proclaimed, "_Messers. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief Makers are proud to present _The Marauder's Map."

"What -?" Harry asked in confusion.

"This," I beamed, "Is a map of the entire castle. It shows everything, everyone, where they are, what they're doing, every minute, of every day. It also shows _every single passageway in the castle_. Including," I took a dramatic pause for effect, "_The ones leading in and out of Hogsmeade._"

Harry's eyes widened and he whispered, "No!"

"Yes!" I grinned, "We can go!"

Harry looked up at me in shock, "This is how you got in last year?"

"Yep!"

"You just – snuck out?"

"What else would I have done?"

"I dunno, I thought you did some funky magic thing but… why are you giving this to me?" Harry frowned, "I mean, Fred and George gave it to you, I assume…"

"Well Harry," I smiled, "If I have you three around me almost all the time, why would I need it? Besides, you'll probably find better use for it than I would."

"Fair enough," Harry grinned, "Lead the way, sis."

Harry and I went back up to the Common Room, him grabbing his Invisibility Cloak for sneaking purposes and us both grabbing some money and warmer clothes for walking around in.

We snuck through the Honeydukes passageway and managed to get into the shop without anyone seeing us, wiping the map clean. Harry stuck it in his pocket as we spied Hermione and Neville at the other end of the shop. We snuck towards them, grinning at each other.

They were examining some acid pops, frowning at them.

"Hermione, I'm telling you, no one should eat those…"

"I want to bring him back something _different_."

"How about Cockroach Clusters?" Neville suggested.

"Um, no," Harry and I said in unison. The other two spun around on their heels and looked at us in shock.

"Harry! Maggie!" Hermione and Neville gasped in shock.

"Hi," we both waved.

"How are you here?" Neville gasped in wonderment.

"Snuck in, like I did last year," I offered.

"But… how?" Hermione's eyes were wide.

"This is how," Harry beamed and showed them the map, explaining how it worked.

"Well that's brilliant!" Neville laughed, "Come on, let's go exploring."

Hermione still looked nervous, and I knew why – there _was_ a reason, after all, why we weren't in Hogsmeade legally in the first place.

"You aren't going to… keep it, are you, Harry?" Hermione murmured, "You're going to hand it in to Professor McGonagall, aren't you?"

"No," Harry responded calmly, "I know it's probably dangerous – who knows, maybe Sirius Black can work it – but Maggie gave this up for me when it was her 'chief trickster' birthright or whatever term one would use for that rubbish. And it's very useful; not just for sneaking out, but I'm sure there's loads more that I could use this for – what if I need to track someone in the school cause I think they're up to no good? I mean, take last year for example – I could have used this to see that Ginny was going to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom regularly and, knowing that, pieced some of that together. I could have seen in the first year that Professor Quirrell had been on the third floor and Snape was chasing him, or released the Troll. This isn't something I'm going to give up. What if I see Sirius Black on it?"

"Alright," Hermione sighed, "Alright. But what if Sirius Black is using one of the passageways from Hogsmeade to get into the castle…"

"He can't be," I responded calmly, "Look at the map. There are seven secret tunnels, you can see them," I pointed at the parchment, "Fred and George told me everything about them. Filch knows about four of them, they told me, so Sirius would have been caught by one of them. And with the other three – one's caved in, one of them's got the Womping Willow planted over the entrance, so you can't get out of it, and the only one that actually works, he'd have to have gone through _Honeydukes_, a shop with people living over it, and the door is really hard to find down in the cellar. He'd have to walk through _Hogsmeade_ to even get to the shop!"

"Not to mention, Hermione," Neville inclined his head at a sign as we left Honeydukes, which read

BY ORDER OF  
**THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC**

_Customers are reminded that until further notice, dementors will be patrolling the streets of Hogsmeade every night after sundown. This measure has been put in place for the safety of Hogsmeade residents and will be lifted upon the recapture of Sirius Black. It is therefore advisable that you complete your shopping well before nightfall.  
Merry Christmas!_

"Yeah, I'd like to see Black get through that, Hermione," Harry nodded.

The snow was swirling around madly around us. Hermione still looked skeptical.

"Look, Hermione, I admit we probably shouldn't be caught out here – since I know that's what you're going to say," Harry murmured kindly, "But no one's going to recognize us in this mess of snow unless they're looking for us; I have the cloak in case we need to disappear; and it's Christmas," Harry gave Hermione big puppy dog eyes and she finally relented.

"Alright, alright," Hermione sighed, "Honestly though, you've got to promise you won't… abuse it."

"My word," Harry nodded, "Come on, let's go to the Three Broomsticks – I want to try Butterbeer."

"Um, can we bring Maggie there?" Neville laughed.

"I promised Fred and George I'd meet them at Zonko's," I grinned, "I'll catch up with you all later."

"Alright. We'll go to the Three Broomsticks," Hermione nodded, "Where shall we meet up?"

"Honeydukes again?" I offered, "Since that's how Harry and I have to get out."

"Sounds good," Hermione agreed, "Bye!"

I headed through the snow to Zonko's and entered to see the twins there, and no Siobhan, which made me extraordinarily happy.

"Maggie!" George beamed. I smiled at the two of them and looked around at all the pranks.

"Shall we do some shopping?" Fred asked, but he sounded rather cold. It confused me. He had been very cheerful just yesterday…

"Sure!" I decided to pretend like I didn't notice his change in personality.

"Look there, Maggie – more hair dye pranks. Seriously, Malfoy deserves it these days…" George began prattling on as if he didn't notice anything either, but I saw him flash a dirty look over at Fred when he thought I wasn't looking.

We explored Zonko's for a long time and I picked up a right haul of pranks, most of which I planned to implement on Malfoy or on Filch. As we continued around, Fred didn't look any more cheerful, though George was still fine. I really had no idea what was up with them.

When we left the shop, George turned to me and said, "Hey Maggie, could I talk to you for a moment? Just a moment."

"Sure –" I answered but Fred interrupted.

"_Actually_, George, I saw Lee Jordan at the Hog's Head – trying to buy Firewhiskey again, and that's even worse than Butterbeer, so I don't think we should bring Maggie along. I _do_ remember we promised to see him in Hogsmeade," Fred stated calmly, a tone of coolness in his voice. I felt rejected.

"Alright… see you, Maggie," George sighed, turning around.

"See you, Maggie," Fred echoed. However, I held him back and hissed in his ear so George couldn't hear, "_Are you mad at me?_"

"You?" Fred answered loudly, so George could year, "No, I'm _not_ mad at _you_. Trust me." George looked peeved at his statement. Fred smiled in a strange way, bowed, and left with George.

_What was all **that** about?_ I though peevishly as I headed back to Honeydukes. Harry, Hermione, and Neville were there, and all had serious expressions on their face. Well, the last two did – Harry looked positively distraught. I rushed forward and held his arms, asking what was wrong immediately.

"We… we found out something, in the Three Broomsticks," Hermione murmured hesitantly, looking back from Harry to me in worry, "Let's go somewhere where we can tell you."

We walked through the snow to the end of the street where there was a small park, and stood in the middle of the snowy field.

"You know… that Sirius Black blew up a street, killing thirteen people, one of whom was a wizard and twelve of whom were muggles," Hermione murmured.

"Yeah," I nodded, "Insane. Mental."

"Right, well, McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid, and the Minister of Magic himself came into the Three Broomsticks and were talking with the barmaid – Madam Rosemerta. We had to hide Harry underneath the table, so it's _really_ good you weren't there," Neville continued.

"Well first off, McGonagall seemed to still be in shock that Black had turned to the Dark Side, as it were – apparently it was completely different than who he was at Hogwarts," Hermione began. Harry was still silent, but I saw tears in his eyes and my concern grew.

"But he didn't… _just_ go over to the Dark Side," Neville sighed. He took a long time before continuing, "He was best friends with James… James Potter, you see."

"_What?!_" I gasped.

Hermione and Neville nodded gravely.

"They did everything together at Hogwarts… they were troublemakers, like Fred and George, really… they were like brothers," Hermione whispered.

I looked at Harry and back at Hermione again, nodding for her to continue.

"Black was James' best man when he married Lily, and he's Harry's godfather," Hermione continued.

"_No!_" I gasped. Harry nodded gravely.

"There's more," Hermione whispered.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," I shook my head sadly.

"Well, Harry's parents… they knew You-Know-Who was after them. They went into hiding the moment Harry was born, but not… as far into hiding as they could go," Hermione paused, "There's this thing I've read about, called the Fidelius Charm, or Secret Keeping – it means that you tell one person your secret, just one, and only that person can tell others about it – back during the war, lots of people had Secret Keepers that knew where they lived so they could go into hiding. It was the best way to do it – no one could find out about the secret, except if they asked the Secret Keeper."

"My parents had a secret keeper," Neville offered. I was struck by this, as Neville _never_ mentioned his parents. I literally knew nothing about them.

I frowned, putting pieces of information together in my head, "You… You _don't mean_…"

Hermione nodded, "Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper… James really, really trusted him… Dumbledore was still worried though, apparently, according to McGonagall he offered to be their Secret-Keeper himself… He knew that someone close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements… he knew someone had turned traitor…"

"But James Potter still insisted on using Black, and then just a week after the Fidelius Charm was performed, Black betrayed them to You-Know-Who , and that's how he found them, killed Harry's parents and was defeated by Harry," Neville finished.

"Even worse still, on _top_ of all that, one of James' friends, a man by the name of Peter Pettigrew – he was one of Black's friends, too, all of them were mates at school… he confronted Black in the street about betraying the Potters, and Black killed him. The street blew up, all that was left of Pettigrew was a finger… and Black just _stood_ there, _laughing_…" Hermione whispered.

I felt fury bubble up inside me.

"I'm sorry," I spat, "But the worst thing that anyone can do, in my head, is betray someone who cares about them. Even if you don't care about that person _at all_, that is the _worst thing to do_, betray someone's trust."

Hermione and Neville nodded in equal concern.

"I mean it," I was seeing red with the anger that had filled the pit of my stomach, "I mean it. I will kill him."

Harry looked up sharply, "Are we going to have a competition in this, Maggie?"

"Together, then," I reached out and clasped him on the shoulder. Of course, I was the only one here who knew that Voldemort hadn't really been after the Potters in general – he had been after Harry, because he had to be, because of what Snape said. So that meant that Sirius Black didn't betray the Potters, though he did – he had been _intending_ to betray _Harry. His Godson._

He had to go. He was no longer fit to live on the same planet as me. He had to die.

No one betrays Harry Potter and gets away with it while _I'm_ alive.

Harry clasped me on the shoulder in unison, "Together."

"You guys, you don't know what you're saying – you can't defeat Black, he's a powerful wizard, he killed thirteen people with a single curse…" Hermione was whispering. Neville looked pale.

I whirled on my heels, "Hermione, don't you _get_ it? _No one_ hurts Harry and gets away with it with _me_."

"Maggie, it was _ages_ ago, it won't bring Harry's parents back or right was done…"

"It doesn't _matter_," I snapped, "He betrayed Harry's family, he betrayed _Harry_, he turned to the Dark Side, he killed many innocent people, and now he's after Harry again, and plans to rejoin Voldy-pants. Don't you _get_ it?" I sneered, "I can't _let_ him _live_. If I find him – if he comes back to Hogwarts," I pulled the map from Harry's pocket, "I will _murder him_."

Harry was nodding in agreement. Hermione looked positively distressed, as did Neville.

"We'll… just try to calm down. Let's go back up to the Castle – we'll meet you there… just… try to think more clearly," Hermione begged.

I shrugged, knowing that if I said I would, it would just be an empty promise.

AN: I'm so sorry this took me so long to put out - it's my mum's birthday today, so I've been doing a lot for that and haven't had the time to type this up. One of my sisters came to visit and everything. So that also explains why certain parts are rushed - it was because I thought I'd have time to write them out and then I didn't. So I really apologize. It also explains why it's a little shorter than the past few chapters.

A bunch of people have asked me how I'm writing this out so fast. The reasons are simple: 1. I type at 110 words per minute with high accuracy; 2. I still quote a lot from the book so those are easy passages to quickly spit out; 3. I planned out all the changes from the book ahead of time in a notebook so I have a very good idea of what is going to happen and when; 4. My writer's block isn't so much not knowing what to write next, but just not having the urge to write, and I'm usually very good at getting over that; 5. I don't have a job and I'm not in school, so I mainly just spend my days in my room writing; it's much too hot for me to go outside and my friends are busy a lot during the day; and 6. I stay up really late at night and sleep in late so my parents don't have as much control over as much of my time. So ta-da! Daily updates!

Shout Out Time! Thank you Viola Potterhead Girl, magical fan18, rangerhero, DreamCatcher1991, puncher71, Edmond O'Donald, Cooky Crumbla, and TA-TwinArmageddons for reviewing! They all really made my day and I'll try responding very soon. Thank you all for your consideration! No Katinss-sarcasm was even implied in that, for serious.

Please review, thank you!


	21. Ch 20: Christmas Holidays, 1993 to 1994

Chapter Twenty: Christmas Holidays, 1993-1994, Hogwarts

The next day was the first day of the holidays, and Harry didn't look well. I don't really think I probably looked healthy either, but at the same time I didn't care much about myself.

"How are you doing, Harry?" Hermione immediately asked.

"Terribly," Harry answered in a short voice. Neville hovered behind an arm chair, looking at the pair of us with concern.

"Guys…" Neville whispered. We looked up in unison and his eyes widened.

"What?" I snapped.

"Sorry. I just never really am aware that you guys are related… I mean, you act like twins, that's not what I mean – I just never think of you two as _genetically_ similar because you look so different… but just then you looked very similar. Your eyes are identical, that's not what I'm getting at – just the identical looks of irritation and anger… your faces were shaped very similarly and it was striking, that's all," Neville explained.

"Alright, so what did you want to say before that?" Harry shook his head.

"I just… I don't think it's smart for you to go looking for Black, alright?" Neville spluttered out, "You… he's dangerous, he's not… not worth dying for, guys. I don't…"

Hermione continued for Neville, who didn't seem to be able to go on, "I understand how you two feel. Harry, you have every right to want Black dead. He is the reason behind a lot of pain in your life. And Maggie, I understand how you think, and I understand that you can't _help_ but want to murder him – it's in your nature. But really… you two ought to thank him I think."

"_WHAT?!_" we both shouted in unison anger and astonishment.

"Harry's parents dying was a horrific and tragic thing," Hermione assured, "I wish it hadn't happened, don't get me wrong. But the silver lining… well, you two would never have been so close, would you?"

Harry and I looked at each other in unison shock. Hermione had a point… he would just have been my distant cousin.

"And… I mean, Harry wouldn't have grown up having to be the reasonable one – he might have been as big a prat as Ron," Hermione offered, "At least, not as attuned to his surroundings as he is having grown up with Maggie. And… And Maggie might not have had such a strong protective instinct – instead just… anger, with no way to direct it. You two help each other, and you have something really special. Really."

I frowned and stared down at my shoes.

"That doesn't mean I should _thank him_ for _killing my parents_, Hermione," Harry finally said.

"No, I'm just saying… there's always a silver lining to everything. And though your anger is completely justified… there are things that are too extreme," Hermione finished.

"I mean, you guys, you're good at magic. Don't misunderstand me – you're _brilliant_, you're _brave_, and if any third years could tackle Sirius Black it would be you, but… you're _third years_. And Black is _dangerous_. I just…" Neville sighed, "I dunno what I'd do without you guys. I love Hermione and all, but just _her_ all the time?"

"Trust me, you guys balance out our little group," Hermione agreed.

"And I… I don't want you guys to die, or get hurt. I don't know what I'd do," Neville finished. I looked up at him and sighed.

"It's what Black wants, for you to put yourself in d-danger, Harry," Hermione murmured, "You can't… Don't _give him_ the satisfaction. Show him that you've grown up adjusted and okay d-despite what he did to you. Be happy and normal and healthy and not constantly seeking for revenge."

I was still furious, but I could see Hermione's point.

"Hermione," Harry paused, "You don't understand, do you? _None_ of you understand – not even you, Maggie."

I looked at him in shock.

"Even growing up with you, Maggie, I've felt isolated my whole life. We're not even closely related – you're my _second_ cousin. Your parents made it clear from the beginning that I'm _not_ their son; they love me, but not at the same level that they love and accept you and Elena. Elena pretty much _despises_ me because she thinks if I wasn't around you two would be attached at the hip. You think of me as your brother, your twin, but we're _not_, and I'm painfully aware of that, even if I think of you in the same exact way. I'm constantly, painfully aware of the fact that you all aren't my _real_ family, my _original_ family. I want you to be, I want so desperately to be able to fool myself that this is true… but I can't. I long, every single day, for my parents. You know what I think was my most awful thought of my life?" Harry paused.

"What?" I asked quietly.

"That _your_ parents had died and you grew up with me and _my_ parents as _my_ adopted sister," Harry whispered.

I felt my eyes widen.

"I took it back immediately when I thought it – it was first year, after I saw the Mirror. But I still thought it," Harry let out a cruel sounding laugh, "I want both – is that selfish of me? I want you to be my sister, my twin sister in all but closeness of blood; but I want _my_ parents too."

"That's not selfish, Harry," Hermione whispered, "It's normal."

"And maybe I wouldn't be as close to Maggie if he hadn't betrayed my parents – but my mum and Maggie's mum were close. We would have been close our whole lives, just maybe not _as_ close. The only reason we wouldn't be close is if… if…"

"Mum's parents had moved to America like they very nearly did when Mum was born," I offered.

"Right," Harry nodded, "That's basically the only reason I can see for it. And I could have had Mum and Dad. _My_ Mum and Dad, two people who always will love me unconditionally, even if I turn into some sort of monster… _my_ parents, James and Lily. That's what was taken away from me – unconditional love. Even Maggie's love is conditional, just at the last possible point – I uselessly kill someone for pleasure."

"Multiple people, I've amended it," I paused, "You kill multiple innocent people and get immense pleasure out of it with no guilt. The moment you have guilt I'll love you again."

"See? There's a condition," Harry shook his head sadly.

"But _Harry_, I _know_ you," I offered, "I know you better than anyone and you can't deny that, and I _know_ you'd _never_ go on a killing spree for fun without having gone through a major personality change – a betrayal of _yourself_."

"Like Black?"

"Well… yes," I paused, "But you _won't_, because you're _Harry_. So I consider it unconditional love."

"It still doesn't change my main point," Harry muttered.

"No, it doesn't, Harry," Hermione offered, "But your parents wouldn't want you to go chasing after Black even so. Your mum _died_ for you, Harry – she's the reason you're _alive_. She wouldn't want you to waste that chasing down a man in some sort of futile gesture."

Harry closed his eyes tightly.

"Let's do something," Neville interjected, "Let's go to Hagrid's Hut, we haven't visited him in ages."

"I can ask him about Black," Harry nodded in agreement.

"Oh Merlin," Hermione sighed, "You can't go onto the grounds, Harry…"

"They can't keep me locked up," Harry snapped, "Let's go."

I was beginning to calm down a bit, but it was clear that Harry was still furious as we went down to the Hut. The light was on and the snow was up to our knees on the ground as we sludged through it. Harry seemed to be channeling his inner Maggie, and I didn't know whether to be proud or terrified at the unbridled fury careening from him.

We reached the door and Harry pounded on it, but there was no answer.

"What's going on?" Neville asked through his chattering teeth from the cold.

_Cold wimps_.

"There's a weird noise…" I commented as I pressed my ear against the door… "Some sort of moan."

Harry, Hermione, and Neville managed to also press their ears against the door and listen.

"Do you think something's wrong?" Hermione whispered.

"Hagrid?!" Harry shouted, thumping the door again, "Hagrid, are you in there?!"

There were heavy footsteps and the door flung open. Hagrid threw himself almost immediately on Harry.

"So yeh've heard?" he wailed loudly. Hermione and I immediately rushed forward and helped seize Hagrid and pull him back into the cabin. Hagrid sat down in a chair and slumped over his table, sobbing uncontrollably.

"What _is_ it, Hagrid?" Hermione gasped.

Harry and I both saw a letter on Hagrid's table and we grabbed it, Harry opening it and reading aloud:

"_Dear Mr. Hagrid  
Further to our inquiry into the attack by a hippogriff on a student in your class, we have accepted the assurances of Professor Dumbledore that you bear no responsibility for the regrettable incident._"

"Excellent, Hagrid!" Neville gasped, "You're not going to get sacked!" Hagrid waved with his hand though and Harry continued reading.

"_However, we must register our concern about the hippogriff in question. We have decided to uphold the official complaint of Mr. Lucius Malfoy, and this matter will therefore be taken to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hearing will take place on April 20th, and we ask you to present yourself and your hippogriff at the Committee's offices in London on that date. In the meantime, the hippogriff should be kept tethered and isolated._ And a bunch of names follow," Harry finished.

"Oh…" I whispered.

"Buckbeak isn't a _bad_ hippogriff, though, he'll probably get off," Neville reassured.

"Yeh don' _know_ them gargoyles at the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures!" Hagrid croaked, "They've got it in fer interestin' creatures!"

Buckbeak the hippogriff was tethered to the corner of Hagrid's hut, eating something that was oozing blood all over the floor.

"I couldn' leave him tied up out there in the snow! All on his own! At Christmas!" Hagrid protested.

Neville, Hermione, Harry and I all looked at each other. Though I usually was in Hagrid's camp, what we thought as 'interesting creatures' were usually classified as 'terrifying monsters.' Still, Buckbeak didn't qualify in that category.

"You'll have to put up a good strong defense, Hagrid," Hermione began and gently holding Hagrid's forearm, "I'm sure you can prove Buckbeak is safe."

"Won't make no diff'rence!" Hagrid sobbed, "Them Disposal devils, they're all in Lucius Malfoy's pocket! Scared o' him! An' if I lose the case, Buckbeak –"

_I HATE THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC._

The red hot anger had bubbled up in my chest again and I felt myself grip the arms of my chair. Something hot felt like it was rising in my throat and I saw red. I needed to calm down, so I focused on Harry's words.

"What about Dumbledore, Hagrid?" Harry asked.

"He's done more'n enough fer me already,' Hagrid groaned, "Got enough on his plate what with keepin' them dementors outta the castle, an' Sirius Black lurkin' around…"

I looked at Harry sharply, praying for him to not bring up Hagrid not saying anything to him about Black. But he didn't seem to have the heart.

"Listen, Hagrid, you can't give up," Harry continued, "Hermione's right. You just need a good defense. You can call us as witnesses –"

"I'm sure I've read about a case of hippogriff – baiting," Hermione commented, "Where the hippogriff got off. I'll look it up for you, Hagrid, and see exactly what happened."

Hagrid simply wailed in response.

"We can do this, Hagrid, as long as we set our minds to it," I assured, "You've just got to stay strong."

Hagrid blew his nose loudly and nodded, "Yer right. I can' afford to go ter pieces. I've not bin meself lately… Worried abou' Buckbeak, an' no one likin' me classes –"

"We love them, Hagrid," I inserted before anyone else could.

"Thank yeh, Maggie," Hagrid smiled waterly at me, "Yeh really do well with the Flobberworms."

"Erm…" I was trying not to laugh, "It's not… difficult."

"Course… Course. But… An' them dementors make me feel ruddy terrible an' all," Hagrid shuddered, "Gotta walk past 'em ev'ry time I want a drink in the Three Broomsticks. 'S like bein' back in Azkaban…"

Hagrid went silent. We all looked at him with unstoppable curiosity.

"Is it awful in there, Hagrid?" Hermione murmured.

"Yeh've no idea," Hagrid responded quietly, "Never bin anywhere like it. THoguht I was goin' mad. Kep' goin' over horrible stuff in me mind… the day I got expelled from Hogwarts… day me dad died… day I had ter let Norbert go… Yeh can' really remember who yeh are after a while. An' yeh can' see the point o' livin' at all. I sued ter hope I'd jus' die in me sleep… When they let me out, it was like bein' born again, ev'rythin' came floodin' back, it was the bes' feelin' in the world. Mind, the dementors weren't keen on lettin' me go."

"But you were _innocent_," Neville protested. Hagrid snorted in response.

"Think that matters to them? They don' care. Long as they've got a couple o' hundred humans stuck there with 'em, so they can leech all the happiness out of 'em, they don' give a damn who's guilty and who's not."

Hagrid paused, staring into the fire, before leaning closer to us and whispering, "Thought o' jus' letting Buckbeak go… tryin' ter make him fly away… but how d'yeh explain ter a hippogriff it's gotta go inter hidin'? An' – an' I'm scared o' breakin' the law… I don' ever want ter go back to Azkaban."

The trip to Hagrid's managed to distract Harry from Black, and me as well. We spent most of our time before Christmas going into the library and researching court cases on dangerous animals, trying to prepare a defense for Buckbeak, even though I had to rewrite for the _twelfth time_ my essay on my Harry Mourning Process and I had to finish my last Animagus book.

Christmas Morning I awoke to Hermione beaming at me across the Common Room.

"Merry Christmas Maggie!" she greeted.

"Merry Christmas Hermione," I smiled, "I love that it's just us four and the Weasleys again."

"Well, I love that it's us for and all but one Weasley. That specific Weasley will make me murderous if he keeps up his attitude," Hermione sighed.

"Let's not talk about unpleasant things on Christmas," I grinned, opening my presents. I had gotten a book on Arithmancy from my parents, a diary from my sister (she knew how I hated them after the Chamber, and I was getting really irritated with her attitude. I wrote to her every week, for Merlin's sake,) a miniature model of a dragon (to my amusement, a Hebridean Black) that flew around me and would occasionally cough fire from Harry, a planner from Hermione, an enchanted Sunflower from Neville that sang the days of the week, white fudge from Snape, new arrows from Hagrid, and a mega-pack of Filibuster Fireworks from Fred and George. All in all, a good haul.

"Let's go to the boy's dormitory, I want to see Neville and Harry," Hermione suggested when we were both finished, "Also, thank you _so_ much for the Mayan Rune dictionary – I mean, we don't get to the Mayans before fifth year but it's still _very_ useful to have and…"

"Don't mention it, I know why I got it for you," I laughed, "And thank you for the planner."

"Anytime, if it can help you get your work done. You seem more swamped than I do, and I'm taking too many classes," Hermione smiled.

"I'm hoping it'll lighten up soon," I scowled, "Come on, the boys are back in town."

"You are so cheesy sometimes," Hermione shook her head in amusement as we headed up to the boy's third year dormitory.

Harry, Neville, and Ron were still in their pajamas. They were standing around Harry's bed. Harry looked confused, Neville looked apprehensive and Ron looked… in awe.

"What's going on?" Hermione and I asked. They all jumped in unison and looked at us in shock.

"Look at this," Harry held up a very fancy looking broomstick that had the words _Firebolt_ on the handle. I remembered vaguely it was the newest model in the Quidditch store in Diagon Alley, and that all the Quidditch boys (Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny really) had freaked out over it for a fairly long time.

"Who… sent you that?" Hermione and I said in almost perfect unison, frowning at the broom.

"We have no idea," Harry frowned.

"Which I'm not too keen on," Neville interjected.

"Oh come _on –_" Ron snapped.

"I'm not, either," Hermione agreed.

"Neville has the lunatic idea that _Sirius Black_ sent it to him," Ron shook his head sadly.

"It makes sense," Hermione furthered.

I nodded, frowning down at it, "I mean… what if he cursed it so it would throw Harry off and kill him? Sorry," I looked at Harry apologetically, "After first year I'm a wee bit paranoid."

"It's the best broom there is," Ron shook his head, "How could Black afford it? Or get into a shop to buy it?"

"How'd he break out of Azkaban and break into Hogwarts? These questions don't have answers," Neville retorted.

"When did Neville get a mouth?" Ron muttered.

"OI!" I shouted.

"Shut it, Johnson."

"Watch it, or I'll –"

"Bite me?"

I growled in fury.

"Look, guys, just stop arguing for two bloody seconds," Harry snapped, "I see what Neville, Hermione, and Maggie are saying… it _is_ very suspicious."

"Are you bloody kidding me?" Ron sighed, "Harry, it's the _Firebolt_."

"And I won't be able to win the bloody match if I'm _dead_ will I?" Harry retorted. They looked at each other in anger and I felt suddenly very awkward. It was one thing for Hermione and I to hate Ron. It was one thing for Neville to hate Ron, too, though that was less common. Harry and Ron _never_ fought; they were very close as long as the three of us weren't around for whatever reason. They really bonded, for example, in Divination, since Hermione didn't talk anyway and thus didn't bother Ron.

"You've got to be reasonable about this – I mean, I think I'd have to sell all my siblings to buy that…"

"Look, this isn't about _money _or how much it _costs_," Harry snapped.

"Right, because _you never have to worry about money!_" Ron roared.

"Stop _making this_ about money! It's always that with you! Oh, I'm Ron Weasley, I'm so poor and destitute because my dad follows his dreams and doesn't give in to Ministry Prejudices! Oh, I'm Ron Weasley and I want to be best mates with Harry Potter but I can't _stand_ his other friends! Oh, I'm Ron Weasley, I look out for Harry, I've got his back, but _Quidditch_ is _clearly_ more important!" Harry snarled.

I looked over at Neville in shock and he just shook his head furiously at me.

"Shut it, Potter," Ron retorted in a deadly, low voice, "Just. Shut. It."

There was a long and awkward pause.

"Which is more important, Ron? Whether I'm safe or whether I ride a bloody fancy broomstick?"

"You know what?" Ron hissed, "Forget it. Forget I have an opinion. I don't matter, do I? I never do. Not at home, not in class, and not with _famous Harry Potter_. Merry bloody Christmas," and he left the Dormitory in a huff just as Fred and George came down from the fifth year dormitory.

"We thought we heard shouting…" George looked genuinely concerned. They were both still in their pajamas, which for them involved flannel pants and absolutely nothing else. I felt my cheeks burn and I turned away, unable to look at George half naked for longer than two seconds without dying in some way.

"Oh! Girls!" George squeaked when he realized Hermione and I were here.

"It's _just Hermione and Maggie_," Fred hissed.

"Would you _stop that_?" George snapped in response. I managed to look up and swallowed, trying to only look at George's face.

"Maggie and Hermione don't want to be intruded in on by two guys dressed rather rudely," George continued calmly. His eyes met mine and I looked away again, back at the broomstick.

"What happened?" Fred finally sighed.

"Rowed with Ron," Harry muttered, sounding downtrodden, and explained the whole situation.

Fred and George frowned, looking down at the broom.

"Well, while we understand why Ron is upset of course," Fred began.

"We also understand your concern on a mysterious present," George finished.

"So do what you must, mate, but be careful – if Wood finds out you gave up a _Firebolt_…" Fred paused.

"I'm not going to give it up," Harry shook his head, "I'm not _mental_. I'm just going to ask Professor McGonagall to check it out, make sure it's fine."

"I think that's smart," Hermione nodded firmly.

"Me too," I agreed.

"Me three," Neville smiled, but his smile was lacking the enthusiasm I would have thought it would have. He seemed – dare I say it – rather peeved.

"Alright. I'll get dressed and then go… if you girls don't mind," Harry nodded. We left together, past Fred and George, and into the Common Room.

Ron refused to speak to any of us afterwards, and upon seeing that Ginny, Fred, George, _and_ Percy were in Harry's camp, spent the rest of the Christmas Holidays isolated in the Common Room. Harry took the broom to McGonagall, who insisted she and Flitwick would strip it down and check to make sure it was jinx-free, finishing in a few weeks.

That evening for Christmas Dinner I finally met Professor Trelawney, who kept making fake death threats at Harry and seeming like a complete fraud. I had to leave the Hall early because she was making me sick with her idiocy, and I was _very_ glad I hadn't decided to take Divination.

As I walked through the corridor back to the Gryffindor Common Room, though, I heard voices in one of the halls. Familiar voices. I paused and snuck towards the corridor calmly.

"_You've got to do it, George_."

It was Fred.

"Look, it's _hard_, alright?"

"She follows you _everywhere _and you don't even like her as a _person_."

"She's really, really rude… and catty towards… well, people who don't deserve it."

"Exaclty! I'm just saying, she's around you – _us_ – all the time. She drives me _mental_. Couldn't she just _get the bloody hint_?"

"Evidently, not."

"Which is why you have to _tell her you're not interested_."

"I can't – she seems really set on me and I'm flattered."

"The flattering's gone on long enough! Just _tell her_."

"Alright, alright! I will after the holidays, alright?"

"_I'm going to stand over your shoulder and _make_ you._"

"_Okay, Fred!_"

There was silence as I tried to digest the information I just heard.

"Can we _finally_ be okay now?" George asked, "We've been fighting long enough… almost a year, now."

"When you give up your crazy, mental idea to date _her_."

"I can't –"

"YOU'RE INSANE, GEORGE. INSANE. You _know_ I don't think it's a good idea!"

"Well I can't agree with you!"

There was another pause. I felt like something was breaking inside of me.

"I'm going to have to get over myself, aren't I?"

"I won't ask her out until you approve. You're still my twin," George murmured.

"And I don't want to feel responsible for you being continuously unhappy, like you've been ever since you conceived of this inane idea… bullocks. I'm going to have to get over myself, aren't I?"

"I'd really appreciate it."

"Fine. Let's go back to the Feast before all the good food's gone. And don't you _dare_ skip."

I immediately hid in a broom cupboard, waiting until I couldn't hear their footsteps before breaking down and crying. They didn't even _want_ me around anymore? They must be sick of me, I _did_ hang around them an _awful_ lot… I didn't understand, what had I done _wrong_? When had I been catty and rude to anyone but Malfoy?

_You were rude to their brother… Ron… they're probably upset about that. Of _course _they don't want you around_, I thought sadly.

And on top of it, George was going to ask out Siobhan.

I sobbed for a very long time in the cupboard before going to bed immediately, not talking to anyone about what had happened and not letting on anything at all the next day. I dreaded the end of the holidays when they would, for lack of a better term, break up with me.

I spent the rest of the holidays researching with the gang, whom I knew I could count on for sticking with me, researching about Hippogriff baiting again. But I was now concerned. I couldn't afford _any_ time to finish my last Animagus book when I wasn't supposed to have any work to do. I had to end up splitting off from them, too, for parts of the day, just to finish the last bloody book. My essays for Snape were easier to explain, and I was now on number fifteen.

When I was leaving the library after another late night, I ran into George. I wanted to sink into the floor when I looked up at him.

"Oh… hey, George," I whispered, "Sorry, I'm exhausted, gotta –"

"Are you avoiding me?"

I looked up at him in shock and shook my head, "No, no I'm not."

"Oh… it seems like it. Did I upset you?" George furthered.

"No, no you didn't," I lied.

"Alright… well I want to talk to you about something… but it can wait till after the holidays I suppose," George frowned.

"Yeah, I suppose," I nodded, and rushed away before he changed his mind about friend-dumping me.

New Year's Day I finally finished the last Animagus book. No one understood why, but I went back to the Common Room, ran around it in a circle, and did various cartwheels.

"Maggie –" Harry began, baffled.

"Why are you…" Hermione was frowning.

"So…" Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"Bloody…" Fred and George said in unison.

"_Happy_?" Neville finished as I did two backflips in a row before straightening out my clothes.

"Oh, no reason," I beamed, "Gotta go see Professor McGonagall!" And I skipped down to her office for the first time since she gave me the books. I smashed them down on her desk and beamed.

"Done!" I shouted in triumph. She smiled back, a rare sight for her.

"Excellent, Miss Johnson. I'm impressed – you must have been working very hard."

"I've given up a lot of my extracurricular and social activities to do this, Professor, but it's worth it," I beamed.

"Excellent. That's the kind of dedication I want to see," Professor McGonagall praised, "Alright. I finished brewing the first potion. You should take it immediately… it'll prepare your human body for transformation and –"

"Make my internal organs more pliable, I know," I nodded.

"Good, you learned," Professor McGonagall beamed, "Here." It was so strange to see her so happy, but I guess she was rooting for me with this. I took the goblet from her, muttered, "Cheers!" and downed the foul-tasting red potion.

I felt extremely ill and fell to the ground groaning, clutching my stomach and trying to not vomit. It was a horrific feeling and I clenched my eyes together in pain, grunting and gripping the floor, before finally managing to stand up, leaning on a chair.

"You'll have to take it once every night, I'm afraid," Professor McGonagall sighed.

"For a month, I know," I moaned.

"You can do it. I expect to see you tomorrow. You may go, now, but here's a sweet," she handed me a lollipop and I nodded in thanks, going back to the Common Room and trying to act cheerful again so people didn't think I was bipolar.

The next day, after I had taken my potion for the day and felt like my stomach was writhing and trying to free itself from my body, I went and write another Harry essay. Harry was across from me as I wrote it, and I would constantly look up and just consider him.

I finally finished the essay with the paragraph, "_I wish I would be able to move on with my life after Harry died. Parts of me would be able to, certainly. I would be a functioning human being. But no matter what, part of me wouldn't be the same. Whether I spent the rest of my life fighting in Harry's memory, quietly remembering him, or feeling a part of me has gone with him to wherever you go when you die, he will affect my actions long after he is gone, no matter how he goes. I think that's why this has been so hard for me to write. Harry is a part of me; not only have we grown up together attached at the hip, but we've been through so much besides. Adventures in the Forest by our house, most of which were life-threatening; solving mysteries in Hogwarts; taking down Quirrell, confronting the Spiders and Tom Riddle and the Snake, riding on the back of a dragon in the midst of all that, and now living in fear of both Sirius Black _and_ Lord Voldemort. I suppose those kinds of things just don't allow for emotional detachment. _

_But I wouldn't have it any other way._"

I rolled up the parchment and stood up, kissing Harry on the top of the head as I left to his bemusement. I went down to the dungeons and handed the essay into Snape.

"Here we go. You're not going to like it, as always," I sighed as I sat down in a chair, propped my feet against his desk, and read my Arithmancy book (for real this time, and not my Animagus book in disguise.)

After a while, he tapped me on the high-top trainer. I looked up from my book and raised my eyes, ready for his single word, "Again."

"This is finally what I wanted from you," Snape handed me the essay back, "Good job."

"Wait… seriously?" I looked at him in shock.

"Yes, seriously," Snape rolled his eyes, "I wanted it to be universal, which you final got the hang of after essay five; realistic, which you finally got the hang of after essay eleven; and now, honest, which you're finally being with this essay. The ending especially – before you were trying to fool yourself into thinking that you could move on completely from Potter's death. The thing you've got to understand and accept, Miss Johnson, is that you _won't_ be the same. You _won't_ completely move on. When you lose someone you love," Snape took a deep breath, "They never truly leave you. And you needed to understand that and be prepared to deal with it."

I paused, frowning, "You speak like you know from experience."

Snape studied me for a long time, almost sizing me up, before shaking his head.

"Miss Johnson, even _I_ have secrets, you know."

We looked at each other for two seconds before I burst into laughter and he began chuckling. He had more secrets than anyone I ever knew.

"Very few people can make me laugh, Miss Johnson. Your mother, is one of the very few," Snape paused when we had calmed ourselves.

"I consider it an accomplishment. Now what do I do?" I asked him calmly.

"You need to be able to face a boggart without crying," Snape responded simply, "I'll try to find one."

"Alright," I nodded, "Thank you."

He nodded at me and I left the office, feeling joyful at finally finishing that endless essay. I reentered the common room and Harry was still there, pouring over another book on magical creature trials.

"How'd it go?" Harry asked when I reentered.

"I'm _finally_ done writing the stupid thing," I answered calmly, "Now he's going to train me with a boggart."

"Excellent!" Harry praised. I smiled back at him and pulled out my Arithmancy book again.

"Maggie?" he asked after a pause.

"Yeah Harry?" I responded calmly, setting down the book.

"Why do you think Black did it?" Harry asked. I frowned at him.

"You mean, betrayed your parents, or turned to the Dark Side?"

"Both, I suppose," Harry admitted. I frowned even more. I had no idea how to answer this question.

"It's just – I was looking in my photo album, the one Hagrid gave me with my parents and everything. He's in a lot of pictures – he really _was_ their best mate, from their Hogwarts years. There's a picture…" Harry took a deep breath, "Of them, seventh year. Sirius Black is there, and my parents, and their all laughing and have their arms around each other. I can't… I can't believe he was bad the _entire_ time my dad knew him… so something made him change…"

"Maybe Voldy-Pants threatened his own family; or maybe he had a huge row with your dad and made a mistake," I offered, "But instantly regretted it…"

"Then why would he be after me?" Harry asked.

"… Still mad?" I offered. Harry smirked and shook his head.

"Maybe _he_ was in love with Lily and didn't want James to have his happy family… and even now, he doesn't want the remnant of the fact that _he_ got her running around," I suggested.

"… That might have some truth to it," Harry paused.

"What? I was joking with that one," I gasped.

"Well, you know I can hear screaming when the dementors come… I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to worry you, but I know now… it's my mum screaming," Harry explained.

"Oh…" I whispered.

"I'm remember that day, when my parents died," Harry continued, "Voldemort… told her to get out of the way. He didn't need to kill her. _That's_ why her death was a sacrifice; she didn't _have_ to die. But she did anyway and thus protected me… So maybe Black asked Voldemort to spare her. I mean, Voldemort _hated _muggle-borns, and my mum was one…"

"It _is_ confusing why Voldy-Pants wanted to spare her… I agree there's something fishy with that. At any rate, I have no idea why Black turned, Harry, but I can tell you one thing," I stated firmly.

Harry looked at me calmly.

_You're destined to defeat Voldy-Pants, so if you turned that would be rather difficult._

"You're much, _much_ too good to follow in Black's footsteps."

Harry smiled weakly in response.

"I love you, Harry," I stated calmly, "I know I don't say it, but it's so implied I feel it isn't necessary."

Harry laughed.

"And I think I know you better than you know yourself, sometimes," I frowned, "I'm sure it's the same with you towards me… and I know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that you wouldn't turn back. You've had enough opportunities already in your life, and you didn't fall for them… I really don't think you can. There's a fundamental goodness in you, Harry Potter. So no matter how much you hate Black and want to kill him, it doesn't change the fact that, when it comes down to it… I don't think you'll be able to shoot to kill. You'll fight him, you'll do everything you can to bring him to justice… but you'll never shoot an arrow into his heart. You can't. And that's a strength, not a weakness."

Harry smiled weakly, "I just feel so _angry_ towards him. I can't control it… and I don't fully understand it. It's such a weird feeling, it doesn't seem to… _match_… the other feelings I have."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… It's cold, distant, calculating when I actually think about it, but at the same time it's _distinct_ from my other feelings. Even my hatred of Voldemort… everything else feels warm, that is cold," Harry clarified.

I frowned, "That's bizarre."

"I'm aware," Harry sighed, "But at the same time, it's smaller. Like it's a very small part of me, a part that is easily detached, not really connected to the rest…. To be honest, it feels like it's connected to Voldemort in some way."

"You're kidding," I paused, "Like with the parseltongue and everything?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded.

"That is _very_ weird," I acknowledged, "I'm sorry… I'm all white-hot anger, you know that."

"Not _all_," Harry smiled slyly, "To be honest, Maggie, you're happy most of the time."

"In a white-hot, passionate type of way."

"Fair enough," Harry laughed, "Though… the other day, I saw you crying. What was that about?"

"Oh…" I sighed, "Well… if we're having a heart to heart here…"

"Yeah, come on now, _your_ turn," Harry grinned.

"I… have… well, I have a… I sort of…" I stumbled over my words. Even though I knew Hermione knew about it, we had never spoken of it, and I had never said it aloud.

"I sort of like George," I finally managed to say. Harry's eyes widened.

"Like… gushy feelings?" Harry grimaced.

"Behold, I _am_ a girl, who knew," I frowned.

"I'm not going to lie, I am a little surprised," Harry laughed, "But when I actually think about it, it makes sense… I'm surprised I didn't see it before."

"Seriously, with the whole Cedric Diggory thing you should have been like, 'well, that's new,'" I laughed.

"I'm oblivious sometimes, you know that," Harry shook his head.

"It could have been worse – you could have grown up without _any_ female influence at all, and become as big of a prat as Ron," I suggested. Harry scowled at the mention of Ron's name and I immediately felt bad.

"Sorry."

"It's okay," Harry shook his head, "I am just surprised at how callous he was… Anyway. Why were you crying?"

"I overheard George and Fred talking… I think it was about me. I mean, they were talking about how there's someone who follows them around all the time, and they were getting annoyed with her, and Fred talked about how it was 'obvious she fancied George' and 'wouldn't leave George alone' and stuff… And, well, Fred basically ordered George to tell me to leave them bloody well alone, because even George didn't like me anymore… I think it's because of how I treat Ron," I sniffled a little, trying not to cry, "It's one thing for him to not like me back, I was a fool to even hope that, but… not even be _friends_ with them anymore? They're two of my best friends!"

"Do you have any friends who _aren't_ your best friends?" Harry asked teasingly, obviously trying to cheer me up.

"Oh shut it… so I'm really close to the people around me," I sighed.

"It's a good thing, I was just teasing you… and that doesn't make any sense, Maggie. Maybe George isn't interested in you and Fred wants him to let you down, but them not wanting you to hang out with them anymore has got to be bullocks. They think you're awesome, they say so frequently. _They_ chose to hang out with _you_ first year, in case you've forgotten; you've always fought with Ron, and this time, they _agreed_ with you. So I disagree, they must have been talking about someone else," Harry shook his head.

"Who, then? I'm the only person who hangs out with them besides Lee, and they were talking about a _girl_," I snapped.

"I don't know the answer, but I'm convinced it's not you."

"I'm not so easily persuaded," I sighed, "But thank you for trying all the same."

"At any rate," Harry reached out and patted me on the arm, "You don't need them, do you? You've got me, as always, and Hermione and Neville and Ginny. Come on, how many Weasleys do you really _need_," he suggested teasingly, making me laugh.

"You'll always have someone around who loves you, as long as I'm alive," Harry finally finished, "So don't worry about two prats who are apparently bipolar."

"Thanks, Harry," I smiled.

"Oh, anytime… I also have some news, that I'm rather excited about," Harry paused.

"Oh? What?" I laughed.

"Lupin's going to help me with dementors… I asked after the match against Hufflepuff, but I haven't really found an opportunity to tell you before now," Harry explained.

"You're kidding! That's fantastic!" I grinned.

"Thanks," Harry laughed, "I hope I can do it."

"I think you can," I reassured, "Seriously."

We smiled at each other and continued to work in comfortable, contented silence.

AN: Sorry the chapter was short again, but this time I actually intended it to be - I just wanted the Christmas Holidays isolated into one chapter. At any rate, I hope you all enjoy it, and I'm sorry that I released it so soon after the last one, so that lots of you probably have to read two chapters... at least its more to read, am I right, am I right?

The time I update is going to be pretty sporadic, because I have a lot of chores to do before I go back to school. A lot of packing especially, which trust me, I am VERY excited for. So, freaking, excited.

If you're wondering what I listen to while I write this story, it's these specific artists: Silversun Pickups, Sick Puppies, Three Days Grace, Saving Abel, and Fort Minor. And I get a lot of inspiration from songs, so those lyrics are fun to look up if you want to know the emotions that go into my inspiration for this. And there's a LOT of Sick Puppies. Also, I was thinking - I've been doing a lot of doodling of these characters and certain scenes. If you guys want me to upload my crappy drawings to deviantart, just let me know. But they're bad. Ish. One of them I'm actually somewhat proud of... anywho, let me know.

Not a lot of reviews, but I'm not surprised because of how late I updated, so thank you to the people who did review: Rangerhero, DreamCatcher1991, Guest, Jueso, and puncher71. Also thank you EmeraldEyes-91 for favoriting the story. I hope you guys enjoyed this short-but-sweet chapter, and will let me know what you think of it! Who knows when I can update tomorrow... my sister, her husband, and their three kids are coming to visit... O_o

Please Review!


	22. Ch 21: January Mid February, 1994

Chapter Twenty-One: January – Mid February, 1994, Hogwarts

The school finally came back; the holidays were over. I was still drinking the potion and every night it felt like someone was twisting my insides into knots and unraveling them in the most painful way possible.

According to Harry, Wood didn't take the news about his Firebolt well. He didn't understand how Sirius Black could have sent Harry a broomstick and wanted to talk to McGonagall about her stripping it down, but Harry told him to not bother – he was the one who wanted it stripped in the first place. And, much to Wood's general happiness, he was to begin dementor-fighting lessons on Thursday. Though, despite his assurances he was up to the task, Lupin still looked ill in Defense Against the Dark Arts the first day of term.

"I wonder what's wrong with him?" I thought calmly, "He always seems ill."

"Aunt Melinda never said anything about it," Harry conferred, also frowning.

Hermione was shaking her head mutely.

"D'you know, Hermione?" Neville asked in curiosity.

"No," Hermione responded, much too quickly. The three of us frowned at each other as Hermione slowed down behind us, and silently agreed to turn around and demand and explanation – but when we turned, Hermione wasn't there.

"Well then," Neville frowned.

"And gents, she's done it again," I shook my head sadly.

"Seriously… where does she _go_?" Harry asked in confusion.

"We needed a mystery to solve. This year's been _much_ too quiet," I offered. Neville and Harry looked at me in disdain and we all started laughing together.

"Come on, Hermione's evaded all our questions," Harry shook his head, "No point in trying again."

"Having trouble with Granger, Potter?" I heard Ron snap behind us. We all turned around and looked at him – well, I glared at him, Neville's eyes narrowed, and Harry sighed.

"Why do you care, Weasley?" Harry responded coolly.

"No reason. Just thought it would be rather unfortunate if you lost all your _more considerate_ friends," and Ron shoved past us and walked thorugh the hallway.

"Well. I think he's usurped Malfoy for King Prat of Pratsville," I commented thoughtfully.

"Who knew that Malfoy could be dethroned," Neville frowned.

"He'll take back the throne in a great coup, I'm sure," Harry shook his head.

Thursday evening I went to Snape's office to practice facing the Harry boggart without crying for the first time.

"We're not actually trying to destroy the boggart," Snape began, "That's for later. Instead, I just want you to be able to face the boggart without crying."

"Do you expect me to get it right the first time?" I asked calmly.

"No."

"Then let's do this," I braced myself for the inevitable as he opened up the wardrobe across the room and the body of Harry fell out, falling to the ground, a pool of blood on the floor below him. Snape was far enough away that the boggart wasn't conflicted.

I stared at the body, gripping the back of the chair, repeating Snape's words (well, he had called Harry 'Potter', but the same sentiment) in my head: _It's not Harry, it's not Harry, it's not Harry, it's not Harry; Harry is fine, Harry is fine, Harry is fine, Harry is fine; Harry's with Lupin, Harry's with Lupin, Harry's with Lupin, Harry's with…_

His eyes were blank and staring at the sky and I fell to my knees, wanting to approaching him, tears finally appearing to my eyes.

"A full five seconds," Snape drawled, forcing the boggart back into the wardrobe with a wave of his wand, "Compose yourself, Miss Johnson."

It took me five minutes to finally stand up and stop sniffling and I stared at the wardrobe again. This time, when the boggart came out and Harry remained lifeless on the floor, I lasted for twelve seconds. Then, the next time, twenty one. Then thirty five. We continued on throughout the evening until finally I was up to one minute, ten seconds.

"Progress, Miss Johnson," Snape nodded, "Good, good. Once more."

He opened the wardrobe again and I braced myself. This time, the body of Harry rolled; it rolled towards me and through the office to Snape.

_Crack!_ The boggart changed into a different body; the body of a dark-red-haired woman, around the age of twenty or twenty-two. She wasn't bloody at all, but her mouth was open and she stared up at the ceiling.

"_Riddikulus!_" Snape snapped, looking at me in what could only have been terror. The woman turned into a dark red ball that bounced around the room. Snape laughed in the ball's face and it disappeared in a whisp of smoke.

I looked at Snape in shock and he looked back at me.

"Professor…" I whispered, "Who was that?"

"Please leave, Miss Johnson," Snape responded.

"It looked like my mum, Professor… Younger, but…"

"You are excused, Miss Johnson. And it _wasn't_ your mum," Snape snapped.

"I'm not going to leave until you tell me who that was!"

"_No. Now, leave_."

I stood my ground, folding my arms across my chest.

"If you do not leave my office at once I will give you detention," Snape sneered.

"Tell. Me.

"A week's detentions!"

"Now, Professor."

"Do you _honestly_ think you can get away with this level of insubordination…" but I cut Snape off.

"Professor, that _looked like my mum. I have a **right** to know!_"

"It's not your mum!"

"THEN WHO IS IT?!"

There was a very long pause as we glared at each other.

"Can't you respect my secrets, Miss Johnson?"

"Can't you respect that I don't _understand_ what's going on, and that this clearly has _something_ to do with my family?"

"Can't a woman have similarities to your mother without being related to her?"

"Not that similar!" I shouted, "Professor, it's not like I'm going to _tell anyone_. I just want an _explanation_."

Snape sneered at me for another long time, "Please go, Miss Johnson. Now."

"Tell me!"

"A month's detentions! Now, _leave_."

I stomped out of the office and slammed the door behind me. Who had that woman been? I rushed up to Harry's dormitory when I returned to the Common Room, upon seeing that he wasn't there. There was no one in the dorm and I dug through his things until I found the photo album Hagrid had given him. I flipped open to the section with his parents and their friends, and found her. Harry's mum.

She looked so much like my mum – the facial features, the eye color, the hair color and style. They could have been twins, except my mother was curvy and Harry's was skinny. I frowned down at the picture. She was identical to the dead woman on Snape's office floor.

_Lily Potter? But _why_? Mum said that they had fought and stopped being friends…_ _And why would his boggart be her dead when she's **been** dead for twelve years?_

I slammed the album shut and put it back in Harry's things and ran down the steps, intending to go back and confront Snape. But at the base of the stairs was Harry.

"Maggie! … What were you doing in my dormitory?" Harry frowned.

"I just… wanted to look up something," I frowned, "How'd it go with Lupin?"

"Well, we used a boggart – makes me wonder how many the castle can hold. Anyways, the way you get rid of a boggart – that silvery thing that all the teachers cast, and Aunt Melinda and Uncle Nathaniel, it's called a _patronus_ charm. It conjures a patronus, which is like an anti-dementor, like a shield between you and the dementor. It's basically… a projection of hope, happiness, and survival instinct. And all patronuses are unique to each person," Harry explained.

"Huh, I guess that makes sense – I mean, mum's silvery thing was a killer whale, but Dumbledore's looked like a large bird –"

"Bet it was a phoenix, like Fawkes…"

"And Lupin's was some sort of dog thing," I finished.

"Exactly. You have to think of a really happy thought to conjure it, though. It's _really_ difficult… Apparently a lot of qualified wizards can't do it," Harry sighed.

I grimaced for him, "Did you have trouble?"

"At first," Harry acknowledged, "The memories I was picking weren't good enough… You know, when we went to Hogwarts for the first time, and when we won the House Cup first year. And I… I heard my dad yelling at Voldemort, you know, from that night…"

"Oh Harry," I murmured.

"Apparently, Lupin and my dad were friends. He seemed very struck that I had heard Dad," Harry frowned, "But then… Well, I picked the memory from the other night… when we were talking, and how you told me you didn't think I could ever betray anyone or turn bad."

"And?" I raised an eyebrow.

"It stopped the dementor for a little while," Harry beamed, "Lupin put it back in the case, but I stopped it for a while, and Lupin was very pleased."

"That's great Harry!" I beamed, "So I guess concentrate on happy memories based on people, not… I dunno, winning House Cups and coming to magical schools?"

"Yeah," Harry laughed, "How'd your boggart thing with Snape go?"

"Oh… alright. I got up to a minute and ten seconds without crying," I offered.

"Brilliant!" Harry patted me on the shoulder, "Alright, well I'm going to get some sleep. I'm nackered after that."

"Me too," I nodded, "See you tomorrow."

Harry was swamped from that moment on, much like I had been the last term. He had Quidditch practices five nights a week, Dementor fighting the sixth, and thus just one night per week to do homework. My nights, compared to last term, were miraculously free – I wasn't reading endless Animagus books, just drinking a frightful potion; and I didn't have to write an endless essay… in fact, Snape didn't call me to his office for a long time after our session, probably to avoid my questions. My detentions weren't even with him, they were with Filch, cleaning bedpans without magic in the Hospital Wing and making me want to vomit. Hermione seemed more stressed than ever, even with me and Neville helping her with the court cases for Buckbeak so she could concentrate on her schoolwork.

When the month of Animagus potion hell had finally passed, I made and then took another potion under McGonagall's watchful eye – one that was a lot more palpable.

"The purpose of this one – keep stirring – is to help your body find the animal that it most connects to, the one that it will settle on when we begin the wandwork. Fortunately, this one doesn't taste or feel _nearly_ as bad as the last one… in fact, it tastes rather like pumpkin pasties… or it does for me. It tastes different for everyone," Professor McGongall explained as I added more lacewing flies to the potion, "Unfortunately, you have to take it for half a year before we can continue."

"Brilliant," I muttered sadly, "And then… how long does the wandwork take again? Sorry, it's been a while since I finished the first book and I didn't look over my notes."

"Two years usually. A year and a half if you're good. A year if you're brilliant," Professor McGonagall offered.

"And I'm inexperienced, so I guess it'll be five," I grumbled.

"But you're doing this under my tutelage, so I would give you more credit than that," McGonagall rolled her eyes, "Alright, take the potion, now."

It tasted an awful lot like spicy food to me – like something from India. But I could swallow it, and it made my insides feel nice and warm. I decided immediately I didn't mind that this would take six months exactly.

Soon after this, Professor McGonagall gave Harry back his Firebolt, much to all of our joy – it wasn't cursed. Ron still didn't talk to Harry, but Wood looked very relieved and joyful even. The Twins, Hermione, Neville, Wood, Ginny and I all went out to the Quidditch Pitch with Harry immediately after he got it back, Madam Hooch standing guard and gushing over the broom in technical language that went straight over my head.

"Alright, here goes nothing," Harry nodded to all of us as he mounted the broom.

"Go Harry!" Hermione, Ginny and I cheered. Hermione and Ginny both instantly colored and I rolled my eyes.

Harry kicked off from the ground and he zoomed off, going so fast he was a blur against the sky. None of us could help cheering now as he moved too fast to be seen, lapping around the Pitch in a blur of red and gold so many times I got dizzy, before landing before all of us again.

"Alright… who wants a turn?" Harry laughed. The Weasleys and Wood all stepped forward eagerly, but Neville, Hermione and I stayed back to congratulate Harry and watch the joyous Quidditch Buffs on our own.

When we got back to the Common Room, Ron was standing there, looking at all of us in fury.

"GRANGER!" he roared. We all stopped in our tracks in shock.

"What?" Hermione responded calmly.

"LOOK AT THIS!" He held up a sheet, on which there were small splatter of blood.

"So…" Hermione frowned.

"SCABBER IS GONE! THERE'S BLOOD ON MY SHEET AND SCABBERS IS GONE! AND," Ron held up a handful of long, ginger cat hairs, "I FOUND THESE ON THE FLOOR!"

Hermione's eyes widened, "Have you looked _everywhere_ for Scabbers?"

"I HAVE BLOODY WELL LOOKED EVERYWHERE, GRANGER! YOUR BLOODY CAT ATE MY RAT!" Ron roared.

"Ron, calm _down_," Fred ordered sternly.

"You _hated_ that rat," George agreed.

"SHE DIDN'T TAKE THE FACT THAT HER BLOODY CAT WANTED TO EAT MY PET SERIOUSLY!" Ron shouted.

"It's a cat! Cat's eat rats!" Ginny shook her head.

"SCABBERS DIDN'T DO _ANYTHING_ TO THAT CAT AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO HIM!" Ron roared.

"Exactly – Scabbers didn't do _anything_," Harry sighed.

"I'm really sorry, Ron. Seriously," Hermione said, using Ron's first name, a rare occasion.

"It won't bring back my rat, will it?" Ron snapped, picking up the sheet and stomping back to his room. We all looked at each other in stony silence.

"We'll talk to him, Hermione," Fred offered.

"Since when do I really care about what Ronald thinks of me?" Hermione rolled her eyes, "I'd rather… well, I'd rather he and Harry made up, to be honest."

"Not likely," Ginny rolled her eyes.

"He was very inconsiderate, Hermione. It's going to take some time for me to be able to forgive him, though I want to eventually," Harry explained.

Everyone began mulling about and going to bed. Fred and George shared a look and Fred went up to the boy's dormitory as I set down my book bag and considered doing some extra reading on the history of Animagi. At that moment, Lavender, Parvati, and Siobhan came into the Gryffindor Common room, talking and giggling.

"Oh, I can't believe Professor Trelawney predicted that, Siobhan," Parvati sighed in a dreamy way. George was standing on the base of the boy's staircase and was watching the three girls come in with a frown.

"I know! That's _so_ lucky," Lavender agreed, "He's _so_ dreamy."

I looked over at George again and saw, to my bemusement, he was scowling.

Siobhan finally noticed George, as did the other two, and they all began giggling again. I wanted to rip out their perfectly styled hair.

"Well we'll be in the dormitory, Siobhan," Parvati stated calmly.

"See you soon," Lavender winked and those two went up to the dormitory. I buried my nose in my book and read about the various types of Animagi, trying to block out the sound I was about to hear.

"Hey, Siobhan? Could I talk to you?" George asked.

"Oh of course, George!" Siobhan simpered.

"Alright… can we go somewhere more private?"

"Oh, I think here's as good as anywhere. Only _Maggie's_ here," Siobhan laughed. I felt like clawing out her eyes. I looked at my knuckles and my grip on the book was so tight they were turning white.

"… That's the problem."

"What?"

"That's the problem, Siobhan. You drive me crazy."

"… In a good way?"

"No," George stated. I looked up covertly and saw he was scowling deeper now and Siobhan looked shocked.

"What are you talking about, George?"

"Siobhan, you have absolutely no respect for Maggie, and she's one of my best mates. Futhermore, you bash her all the time; her and her friends. You've even based Fred a couple of times. You're just very mean and rude to everyone and everything. Furthermore, I think I've dropped the hint _more_ than a couple of times that I am _not interested in you_."

"_WHAT?!_"

"I didn't want to be rude," George sighed, "But you've just been pushing my buttons, Siobhan. You don't get the hint that I don't really want to spend time with you, and that I'm not interested in you romantically, and yet you keep on pushing in with me, touching me and making me feel uncomfortable. And then you force me to have this conversation with you in front of my friend, who is probably very uncomfortable right now. So, since _you_ can't stop yourself from being rude, I'm not going to bother either."

"I… I…"

"I'm sorry you're upset, I'm sorry I've made you cry. But that's the truth. We could never be more than friends and I don't even know if we can be that. Now please, stop bothering me," George scowled even more, "You seriously don't ever leave me alone."

Siobhan let out a wail and I saw her rush up into the girl's dormitory, her long black hair flying through the air behind her. George turned to me with a heavy sigh.

"That wasn't very nice," I said nonchalantly, setting down my book. But the joy that had filled me at that exchange was so complete that I didn't find myself caring he hadn't been nice to her.

"_She_ isn't very nice," George groaned, sitting across from me, "My God, Maggie, you should have _heard_ the things she was saying about you. Every other conversation was her bashing you and me trying to explain that I didn't… Well, that you have a lot of good qualities, too."

"Why did you even hang out with her in the first place?" I asked with a small laugh. I was just so _relieved_.

"She pulled a prank on a Slytherin in our year and Fred thought she was clever, so we hung out with her a couple of times. This was in your first year. But we figured out that _you_ would be a better successor so we, in essence, ditched her. She would still try and hang out with us last year, of course, and we put up with her, but she _always_ bashed you, and sometimes Harry and Hermione and Neville too, which drove us mental. And then this year she wouldn't leave me _alone at all_, though I didn't really notice she was doing so until you pointed it out. Thank you for that, I might have led her on for even longer," George grimaced.

"Well, thank you for defending my honor," I laughed.

George chuckled, and then frowned, "You seem better."

"Yeah," I shrugged.

"What was wrong, before? You barely even acknowledged me and Fred and, well, we had a great prank idea," George sighed.

"Well… to be honest," I sighed, "I overheard you two talking in the hallway, at Christmas. I guess Fred was telling you to… well, do what you just did to Siobhan. Except, I didn't hear you name names, and what with you and Fred arguing all the time when I was around… I figured you were going to ditch _me_."

"Oh!" George's eyes widened, "But – I don't hate you, surely you know that…"

"I was being silly," I shrugged.

"No you weren't – Merlin, I'm sorry. Out of context it probably sounded like we were talking about you… but of _course_ neither Fred _nor_ I hate you. I-ahhhh, _we_ think you're awesome. Seriously, we would never think such negatively about you… and besides that, if we wanted you to leave us alone, we would tell you together, in a much gentler fashion," George laughed.

I laughed weakly, "Alright."

"But that would never happen. Seriously, Maggie," George paused, "Um… how much else did you hear of that conversation?"

"Um… why?" I asked.

"Oh Merlin… you heard the ending, didn't you," George groaned.

"I'm sure she's a lucky person, whomever she is," I laughed.

George frowned at me, "You don't… know who she is?"

"You didn't say her name," I shrugged, "Course I don't."

George studied me for a long time, frowning, "Maggie, for being one of the most deducing and perceptive people I know, you can be really oblivious."

I raised an eyebrow, "Care to clarify your backhanded insult, George?"

George sighed, "Maybe later… I'm exhausted. I've had an emotionally trying day."

I laughed, "Alright, talk to you later George."

"Bye, Maggie," George murmured, going up to his dormitory. I read my book with a very large smile on my face. Who cared who he liked? He didn't want to not be my friend anymore and that was enough for a lifetime.

A few days later it was the Ravenclaw Gryffindor game, the biggest game of the year, really. Gryffindor _had_ to win, or else the Cup was an impossibility.

Harry carried down the Firebolt to the Gryffindor Table and set it among the team, Hermione, Neville, and I beaming next to him. Harry looked determined and excited at the same time as everyone came by to compliment him on his broomstick. Ginny just found herself touching the bristles of the broom, unable to help it. Truth be told, _all_ the members of the Gryffindor Team in addition to Ginny seemed to be worshipping the thing.

"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" Malfoy asked, suddenly appearing. His voice was cold and calculating.

"Yeah, reckon so," Harry answered calmly.

"Got plenty of special features, hasn't it?" Malfoy continued, "shame it doesn't come with a parachute – in case you get too near a dementor." Crabbe and Goyle behind him sniggered.

"Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy," Harry retorted, "Then it could catch the Snitch for you."

The Gryffindor table roared with laughter and Malfoy stalked away. The Team left to the pitch and Neville, Hermione, Ginny and I went up to the stands eagerly, holding up a banner for Harry that said "HARRY'S ON FIRE". The Ravenclaw team walked out onto the field – almost entirely boys, except for the seeker, who was a short Asian girl from Scotland by the name of Cho Chang. The Captains shook hands, and the teams took off into the air.

"And they're off! The big excitement this match is that Harry Potter is sporting the new Firebolt for Gryffindor. According to _Which Broomstick_, the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the Qudditch World Cup this year…"

"Jordan, please just tell us what's going on in the match," Professor McGonagall sighed.

"Right you are, Professor – just giving some background. The Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-brake and –"

"Jordan!"

"Okay, okay. Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell of Gryffindor heading for goal."

I watched the ongoing action keenly, keeping my eyes peeled in the distance for dementors, but none seemed to be coming. The weather was beautiful for February – cold, but sunny, with frost on the ground, but no snow, and a very _very_ light wind. I had never been more hopeful.

"Gryffindor leads by eight points to zero, and look at that Firebolt go! Potter's really putting it through its paces now, see it turn – Chang's Comet is just no match for it, the Firebolt's precision-balnce is really noticeable in these long –"

"JORDAN, ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? COMMENT FOR MERLIN'S SAKE!" Professor McGonagall shouted.

Ravenclaw scored some so that Gryffindor was only leading by fifty points; Harry dived and we all held our breath. But Cho Chang ran in front of him and he stopped short.

_What is he doing? Just knock the bimbo off her broom!_ I thought in frustration. Neville, Hermione and Ginny were all frowning too. Wood was shouting at Harry and he pulled past Chang, diving towards the ground as she followed him. But just at the last second he pulled out of the dive, and she kept diving by default. He then accelerated towards the other end of the field.

I looked down and saw three black, hooded dementors on the ground, heading towards the stands. But it was strange – I didn't feel cold; no fog had come over us, and to be honest, they didn't glide dementors; they seemed to be touching the ground.

Harry, however, had pulled out his wand and shouted so that everyone could hear in the stands, "_EXPECTO PATRONUM!_" A large silvery object, enormous, shaped like some sort of deer or a stag or something, galloped towards the three dementors. They stumbled on the ground but Harry wasn't paying attention, he zoomed forward to the end of the pitch and grabbed hold of the snitch.

We all burst into cheers, but the dementors on the ground were clearly not dementors – in fact, the cloaks had fallen off and I saw a flash of blonde hair that was disgustingly familiar.

We four ran down from the stands onto the field cheering, running up to Harry. The Team was cheering and hugging Harry tightly. I looked in shock to see Ron had followed us.

I ran up to Harry. He looked at me with mutual understanding, we both ran and leapt in the air in unison and high-fived in mid jump as high as we could, landing on the ground opposite each other.

"Brilliant job, mate!" Neville cheered, giving Harry a guy-hug. Hermione rushed forward and hugged him too, kissing him on the cheek again. Harry's cheeks flushed and Neville and I exchanged knowing glances. Ginny was beaming and Ron stepped forward awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I should have thought more about your safety," Ron sighed.

Harry smiled slightly, "You know what, Ron? I understand too. It's a really awesome broom and it would have been horrible if I had to give it away completely… I accept your apology."

Ron grinned awkwardly and Hermione, Neville and I looked at each other and fake-gagged behind his back.

"Did you see me take down those dementors?" Harry asked me eagerly after Ron had gone back to join Seamus and Dean.

"Well… they weren't really dementors, but that was some patronus," the voice of Professor Lupin sounded behind us. We all spun around to see him walking towards us.

"What was it then?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"Misters Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Flint I believe. They'll all be getting detention and fifty points have been taken from Slytherin for their trick, however," Lupin's eyes were twinkling.

"Fantastic," Harry laughed, "Just what they deserve."

"We'll be pranking them later," I hissed in George's ear, who had just come up to walk beside me. He nodded with a grin.

"Oh, Miss Johnson – Professor Snape has asked me to inform you that I will be continuing your boggart lessons now, as he feels I would be better suited to the rest of the task," Lupin finished. I was shocked by this news.

"You all enjoy yourselves, now," Lupin nodded and left to the other professors.

"Alright gents, Party in the Gryffindor Tower! Come on!" Fred cheered.

The party went on for an obscene amount of time. Fred, George and I snuck out to the kitchens and brought back enough food for an army, and then headed to the Three Broomsticks and got enough Butterbeer for everyone to have thirds.

"No Butterbeer for you," George scolded when I grabbed a mug and downed it on the spot.

"Wait, you _don't_ want Maggie to release her inhibitions?" Fred teased. George scowled but I was laughing.

A lot of people had gone to bed by the time it was just the four of us, the Team, and the remainder of the Weasleys all in the Common Room, still drinking Butterbeer and dancing around to the music on the wireless from the muggle stations.

"Alright, so, ladies' poll," Angelina Johnson shouted over the music as a song finished, "Inspired by our last musical choice in which the girl wouldn't stop singing about the flowers in her hair."

Hermione, Ginny, Alicia, Katie and I all laughed.

"What _is_ your favorite flower? Seriously," Angelina paused, "It's an important question."

"Oh Merlin," Fred groaned.

"Must we talk about girly things?" Ron belched out his Butterbeer.

"Why does it matter?" Harry rolled his eyes and played with the Snitch he had nicked from the match.

"I'm just curious!" Angelina shrugged, "Seriously – being on a sport's team we _never_ discuss this kind of stuff."

"Well my answer's easy," Hermione shrugged, "Lavenders."

"I'd have to go with roses," Ginny shook her head, "Classic."

"Ugh. Why would you want roses? They're so mundane. Tiger Lilies are the way to go," I laughed.

"Ugh, tiger lilies?" Ginny almost completely repeated, "You've _got_ to be kidding me. They're so garish."

"Folks, Maggie and Ginny are _disagreeing on something_," Fred announced.

"Quick, someone call the press," George continued.

"Oh Merlin," we both rolled our eyes and said in unison.

Eventually, Professor McGonagall came in and told us all to go to bed, and we did so calmly. Hermione was beaming at me as we went to sleep at last. However, at some point in the night I heard a shrill, shrill scream. Everyone woke up in the dormitory and we rushed downstairs, the scream having come from the boy's dormitory.

Downstairs, Harry, Ron, Neville – all the third year Gryffindor Boys were awake and talking in serious voices. People were protesting the noise and I walked up to Harry in concern.

"What's going on, Harry?" I asked calmly, trying to not feel exposed in my tank top and short shorts. Hermione, who was wearing long pants and a sweatshirt, looked much more at ease than I did at the newly begun pajama party.

"Ron reckoned he… well…" Harry was frowning.

"I swear, I saw him!" Ron insisted.

"We believe you," Neville murmured.

"Who?" Hermione and I asked in unison as Fred shouted over the crowd, "Excellent, are we carrying on then?"

"Everyone back upstairs!" Percy Weasley shouted sharply, "Now, everyone!"

"Perce!" Ron shouted, "Sirius Black! He was in our dormitory! With a knife! He woke me up!"

I turned on my heel and looked at Ron with shocked, terrified eyes. I immediately reached out and gripped Harry's arm in a death grip.

"Nonsense!" Percy responded, looking startled, "You had too much to eat, Ron – had a nightmare –"

"I'm telling you!"

"Now, enough's enough!"

Professor McGonagall had reentered the tower and slammed the portrait behind her.

"I am delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you!"

"I certainly didn't authorize this, Professor!" Percy responded, "I was just telling them all to get back to bed! My brother Ron here had a nightmare…"

"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE!" Ron roared, "PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP, AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!"

"Don't' be ridiculous, Weasley, how could he possibly have gotten through the portrait hole?" Professor McGonagall demanded.

"Ask him!" Ron pointed a shaking finger at the back of Sir Cadogan's portrait, "Ask him if he saw…"

Professor McGonagall swept to the outside and asked the portrait calmly, "Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor Tower?"

"Certainly, good lady!" Sir Cadogan responded.

Everyone began murmuring in shock at the response.

"You – you _did_?" Professor McGonagall gasped, "But – but the password!"

"He had 'em!" Cadogan responded, "Had the whole week's my lady! Read 'em off a little piece of paper!"

_Oh no_.

Neville had a terrible memory, and had taken to writing Cadogan's inane passwords on pieces of paper. I looked around for him wildly and found him in the back of room, wearing fluffy slippers. I moved to the back of the room in a flash to get to him.

"Which person," Professor McGonagall hissed, her face white as chalk, "Which abysmally foolish person wrote down this week's passwords and left hem lying around?"

I hadn't gotten to Neville by the time he raised his shaking hand in the air, but I managed to afterwards, holding onto his arm and looking at him in horror.

We stayed up the rest of the night in the Common Room as the castle was searched again. I sat with Neville and Harry, looking at the pair of them in concern.

"Neville – don't beat yourself up too much about it –" I whispered.

"If Black had found the right bed, Harry would be _dead_ right now," Neville responded, looking horrified with himself.

"It was an honest mistake –"

"Stop making excuses for me!" Neville groaned, "I made a horrific mistake!"

"It's okay, Neville, really," Harry reassured, "Just try to calm down."

"I can't! I almost _killed_ you!" Neville moaned, burying his face in his hands. I wrapped my arms around him and rubbed his back reassuringly. Hermione walked over to us and sat at Neville's feet on the ground.

"Neville, stop punishing yourself. No one's mad at you. Well, _we_ aren't, at any rate," Hermione murmured.

"Even Ron isn't," Harry offered.

"Just the Professors," Neville muttered, "Cause _they're_ in their right minds."

"Neville, you made an honest mistake. _Everyone_ does," I murmured, "How many stupid things have _I_ done with dire consequences? Remember first year? I inadvertently caused you to get beaten up! But I didn't mean to. This isn't nearly as bad – no one's hurt and now they're making the castle safer than ever."

Neville sobbed into his hands and I kept rubbing his back in reassurance.

Over the next few days, security tightened in the extreme. Portraits were trained to recognize Black, cracks and passages were boarded up by Filch, and Sir Cadagon was fired, the Fat Lady reinstated with the lovely extra protection of trolls.

Ron was an instant celebrity and through this, his relationship with Harry was fully repaired. Ron's story, however, became more and more farfetched every time he told it, and eventually it was almost completely distorted and I had no patience for the story.

In the meantime, Neville was in total disgrace. He was banned from all future Hogsmeade visits, given detention, and no one was allowed to give him the password to get into the tower. However, I didn't like the last one at all, and I always hissed it into his ear in the morning when no one was paying attention, much to his eternal thanks. I honestly don't think I'd ever been hugged that much.

Hagrid's case approached rapidly and we read endless numbers of books in the library on top of our other work. Hermione looked so stressed, as though she was about to die. But at the same time, we three managed to calm her down at regular intervals.

After we left Hagrid's Hut to discuss the Court Case, we came up to the Gryffindor Tower and saw that another Hogsmeade weekend was announced.

"Well," Neville sighed, "They'll be looking to make sure I'm not there, so I probably shouldn't sneak out with you guys."

"You know, I don't really think it's safe for _any _of you to sneak out to Hogsmeade," Hermione shook her head sadly, "What with Black sneaking into the Tower – into Harry's _dorm_ – and all. Really, you shouldn't go…"

"She has a point," Harry sighed, "But then _you'll_ be all alone, Hermione."

"It's sad to say, but I have so much work I don't really think I have time to go to Hogsmeade," Hermione was frowning and she buried her face in her hands as we all looked at her in concern.

"I took on too much," she sobbed, "I can't _do_ all this anymore!"

"You're really stressed, Hermione," I soothed, "Come on, I'll sneak down to the kitchens and get you some hot chocolate. Maybe you should drop some subjects?"

"Like what? Arithmancy and Ancient Runes are my favorite classes!" Hermione sniffled.

"Like, Muggle Studies?" I suggested with an eye roll, "I mean come _on_ Hermione, you _live with muggles_. I understand if it's fascinating to study them from the wizarding point of view, but seriously…"

"Maybe I could drop that one…" Hermione sniffled.

"And to be honest, Divination seems loony," Neville interjected. Since the password incident, his voice had been permanently meek, like it had been prior to the Chamber of Secrets escapade. I felt horrified that his confidence had just been destroyed like that. McGonagall had been too harsh on him.

"I… I…" Hermione looked thoughtful, however, and I knew she was considering it.

"Oh great, you're going to leave me alone with Ron," Harry teased.

"Harry, you know perfectly well that if I wasn't in Divination with you it would go a lot smoother," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"At any rate, we'll all just not go to Hogsmeade, alright? You can do your work and the rest of us can get ahead. It'll be fine," I suggested.

"Thanks guys," Neville murmured gratefully.

"Oh stop acting like the world's ended," I scowled, "No one's hurt and no one's mad at you, alright? You're still Neville, the awesome kid who stabbed a basilisk with a sword last year," I leaned over and hissed in his ear, "_the heir of Godric Gryffindor_."

Neville flushed red and looked down at his shoes.

"Really Neville, stop beating yourself up, it makes the rest of us sad," Harry chuckled.

So that Saturday we all sat in the Common Room, reading our books. I had just gotten back from a boggart lesson with Lupin, which had been much more pleasant and kind than the lessons with Snape. Though, a part of me had to admit that I missed Snape, and wished that he would trust me enough to tell me why he still saw Lily Potter dead as his boggart.

Midway through the evening, an owl began tapping on the window to the Common Room – Hedwig, Harry's snowy owl. He got up to the window and opened it, letting Hedwig in. Attached to her leg was a letter and he opened it. His eyes scanned the paper quickly and his jaw immediately dropped open in shock.

"Guys… Guys, this is from Hagrid," Harry gasped. We all looked up in shock and braced ourselves.

"He lost the case… Buckbeak is going to be executed!" Harry shoved the letter at us and we all read it together in horror, the handwriting shaky and smudged with tears.

"_Dear Harry, Maggie, Hermione, and Neville, _

_We lost. I'm allowed to bring him back to Hogwarts. Execution date to be fixed… Beaky enjoyed London. Thank you for all the help you gave us, really. _

_Hagrid._"

"NO!" I screamed, stamping my foot, "They can't _do_ this! After all the evidence we gave in Buckbeak's defense!"

"And he's not even dangerous!" Harry snarled.

"They can't – this is _wrong_!" Neville gasped.

Hermione was crying and she just looked shocked.

"You_ know_ Malfoy frightened the committee into it," she sobbed, "He's such a Neanderthal… and the committee is just a bunch of old sycophants. I can't believe this… There'll be an appeal, though, there always is… but I can't see any hope…"

"We'll keep looking," I reassured, "Get some others on the case. We're _not_ giving up, Hermione."

"We'll tear apart the library," Harry nodded, "And Hermione – don't bear the burden by yourself. You have enough going on."

Hermione threw herself on us in a hug and sobbed. But I was determined, simply determined, to save Buckbeak's life.

AN: I'm writing this author's note when I have spare moments. Shout Outs! I don't have time for those - I'm quickly posting this while my family's downstairs. But I will thank you all later. Please Review!


	23. Ch 22: February – June 9, 1994, Hogwarts

Chapter Twenty-Two: February – June 9, 1994, Hogwarts

We could, unfortunately, only talk to Hagrid during Care of Magical Creatures class, thanks to the safety measures imposed post Black's second break in. Hagrid seemed numb with shock due to the verdict when we approached him at our first class we had a chance to talk to him (when the weather was warming up and spring was approaching), breaking my heart a little.

"S'all my fault," Hagrid sighed, "Got… got tongue-tied, you see, kept droppin' me notes all over, forgettin' the dates you got me Hermione or the facts you got me Maggie or the evidence against Malfoy's character Harry or the evidence for Buckbeak's character, Neville… an' Lucius Malfoy said his bit, and the Committee jus' did exac'ly what he told 'em…"

"There's the appeal," I snarled, "We'll get him off."

Malfoy was laughing in the distance and I felt my fists clench reflexively.

"S'no good, Maggie," Hagrid sighed, walking us to the castle steps after class, "That Committee's in Lucius Malfoy's pocket. I'm jus' gonna make sure the rest o' Beaky's time is the happiest he's ever had. I owe him that…"

Hagrid then hurried back to his Hut, crying into a handkerchief. I felt like I could just _kill_ Malfoy.

"Look at him blubber!" Malfoy laughed when he was gone, Crabbe and Goyle chortling behind him.

"Hae you ever seen anything quite as pathetic?" Malfoy continued, "And he's supposed to be our teacher!"

I stepped forward, ready to murder him, fire entering me again and reaching up to my throat and mouth, when I saw a blur of bushy light brown hair flash past me – Hermione was in front of Draco and, suddenly, _SMACK!_ She had slapped Malfoy with all the strength her tiny body could muster, which was an amazingly surprising amount – Malfoy fell to the ground, his cheek bright red.

"Don't you _dare call Hagrid pathetic! _You foul – you evil -!"

"Hermione!" Harry gasped, pulling her back towards us.

"Oh get _off_, Harry!" Hermione snapped.

She pulled out her wand and Malfoy stepped back in terror. I did the same, nodding at Hermione.

"Now, Malfoy, would you like us to hex your face into a puddle, or leave you hanging upside down until your face is the color of a beet?" I suggested cheerfully.

Malfoy's eyes widened and he sprinted off to the dungeons nearby, Crabbe and Goyle following him in shock. I grinned at Hermione happily.

"You, miss, are my flipping hero!" I cheered, raising my hand to high five her, which she happily took. We went up to Charms class, and were unfortunately late as Professor Flitwick greeted us.

"Potter, Johnson, Longbottom, you are late. Please take your seats, we will be dividing into pairs…" Professor Flitwick ordered.

"Wait – where's Hermione?" I frowned, spinning around and looking for her.

"That's bizarre," Harry frowned with me, "She was just here!"

"Well this isn't good," Neville sighed, "We lost her again… _and_ there's three of us and we each need a partner for this…"

"I'll partner with Harry, if he wants," Ron offered next to us.

Harry looked at me and frowned, opening his mouth in protest, as the two of us usually partnered and Hermione and Neville would partner.

"Don't worry about it," I smiled, "Neville's awesome too."

Harry laughed and we split off into two pairs. I pulled out my wand.

"Alright, Neville, I suck at Charms, so…" But Neville had a strange look on his face.

"What is it?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, just… you… never mind," Neville shook his head, and we practiced the spell on each other without another word on the subject. We left the class grinning broadly and headed up to the library to study up on Buckbeak's appeal some more, when we ran into Hermione, fast asleep, her head on the Arithmancy book.

"Wh – What?" Hermione gasped as Harry poked her awake, "Is it time to go? What do we have now?"

"Divination," Harry paused.

"Or, you know, Ancient Runes, which you seem to be able to be in at the same time," I rolled my eyes.

"But not for a while," Harry continued, "Why didn't you come to Charms?"

"What? Oh _no!_" Hermione gasped, "I forgot! I forgot to go to Charms!"

"But how'd you forget? We were all going up together," I frowned.

"I don't believe it!" Hermione wailed, "Was Professor Flitwick angry – it was all Malfoy, I was distracted because I was so _angry_ about it –"

"You're taking too much, Hermione how many times do we have to tell you?" I raised my eyebrows and shook my head sadly.

"Drop Muggle Studies and Divination, seriously," Neville shook his head.

"I will _not_ be personally offended if you drop out of Divination, Hermione," Harry rolled his eyes.

Hermione's eyes met mine and I saw immediately what she was trying to say – that, since Ron never talked to her in Divination, it was the only class she was alone with Harry in.

_Ah. You sly little minx._

"Look guys… I'd better go see Professor Flitwick. I'll see you all later," she got up and left in a rush when my expression showed my understanding and Harry looked at me inquisitively.

"Why is it she won't drop out of divination?" Harry asked when she had left the room.

"It's complicated, Harry. Girl stuff," I answered shortly. Neville, who had opened his mouth to help me, immediately closed it when he realized the escape route I was taking. Harry, who hadn't seen Neville, was still skeptical.

I went off to Ancient Runes and Hermione rushed into the room, slamming her books on the desk. I looked at her inquisitively as we opened our Egyptian Rune books and took out our essays translating the Book of the Dead.

"This has been a simply brilliant day," Hermione snapped.

"What happened now? Have you somehow been to Divination before it even started?" I commented airily.

"Yes," Hermione snapped, "And don't ask how, I'm not in the mood."

"Fair enough. What happened in Divination?"

"I quit," she stated firmly.

"Good for you!" I raised my arm in the air in happiness for her, much to Ernie Macmillan's amusement near us. She rolled her eyes.

"In all seriousness, though, what brought about the change of heart?" I asked curiously.

"Professor Trelawney was a _troll_. She had us all looking into crystal balls and such, and she saw the Grim in Harry's for the _umpteenth_ time, and I criticized her for it, because I am just _not_ in the mood today –"

"Bad period cramps?" I hissed in her ear quietly.

"Oh, maybe just a little," Hermione scowled sarcastically, "Not like _you_ don't go around _biting_ people when you have cramps-"

"Let's stop this topic right here, it's a good place to stop. Continue your tale of woe," I offered.

"Anywho, she then bashed me for the millionth time and how I don't have the right mindset, how I'm mundane and all the rest of it, and so I just packed up and left. I mean… there's only _so much_ abuse I can take before I go mental," Hermione shook her head.

"She sounds like a right foul woman. I probably would have killed her," I suggested, have jokingly.

"Maggie, you _would have_. Seriously," Hermione sighed.

"I'm sorry you won't get alone time with Harry now, though," I frowned apologetically.

Hermione let out another long, heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry about that, too. But… well, he still isn't ready for me, is he?" Hermione was frowning sadly.

"What d'you mean?"

"Didn't you see? At the Ravenclaw match?" Hermione looked inexplicably sad. Resigned, as if she knew what had made her sad was inevitable, but sad.

"No…"

"Maggie, you can be really thick sometimes, you know that right?"

"You're just on a role with the pleasing people thing today."

"Sorry – it's just half the time you're brilliant and clever, and I consider myself a fair judge of that –"

"Thank you so much, that really was a compliment," I raised my eyebrows.

"But the other half of the time you don't see _anything_. And usually it's about people and how they feel – no wonder you only have a handful of close friends and everyone else either hates you or is terrified of you – and usually, Harry's the _one_ person you understand… but I guess you didn't see it this time," Hermione frowned.

"I disagree with that statement," Ernie interjected, "Sorry to interrupt – I couldn't help but overhear. I don't hate _nor_ fear Maggie, I'm ambivalent."

"Sweet – see folks? We have ambivalence!" I raised my arms in the air in a cheering victory pose and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Fine, the _bulk _of the school. Anyways, I'm sure you'll see it soon enough," Hermione sighed.

Professor Babbling walked in then, apologizing for being late, and we quickly began translating the new passage for the day.

The Easter Holidays came, and we were all completely swamped. The amount of Arithmancy homework we had been assigned was astounding – we had to numerically analyze, using _geometric methods_ and _trigonometry_, the significance of fifteen different historical events of the past century that we would pick ourselves. Neville seemed like he was going to cry the entire time he, Hermione, and I sat down to do this assignment together. Harry, meanwhile, studied his copy of _Unfogging the Future_ without enthusiasm, drool dribbling down his chin as he fell asleep on top of the book.

Hermione, though done with Divination, was still constantly stressed with work. She never stopped studying and she had bags under her eyes. Since Harry had less work than the three of us, he took over research for Buckbeak's appeal, as I had almost stabbed my charms book with my potions knife one evening and Neville had sworn, at the top of his lungs in the middle of the Common Room one evening,

"_I NEVER WANT TO DO ALGEBRA AGAIN GODDAMMIT!_"

No one, in living memory, had heard Neville swear before, and as such the entire Common Room stared at him in complete shock. So Harry poured over many thick books on Hippogriff nature and behavior, his glasses eschew on his face from leaning his cheek onto his hand while reading. At the same time, he had Quidditch practice every day.

None of us got very much sleep.

However, I managed to find a spare moment to confer with Fred and George. With Hermione on the edge of a complete mental breakdown, I decided we all needed a laugh.

"We prank Malfoy," I ordered when I came upon them in the library – they had O.W.L.s coming up and were actually _studying_. I literally had thought the universe had imploded when I found this out.

"Tonight," I finished when they both looked up.

They studied each other for a moment before nodding.

"We're not going to get an O.W.L. in anything but Charms, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts anyway," George beamed.

"Three subjects for N.E.W.T.s seems about right," Fred laughed.

"Besides – here's a little secret Maggie," George waved me forward. I knelt beside their table and looked up at him calmly.

"We've decided what we're doing with our lives," George whispered.

"What?" I answered in an equally quiet voice.

"We're going to run a joke shop!" Fred finished, beaming.

"Guys, that's _brilliant_," I gasped, "You'll be _amazing_ at that. I bet you'll come up with great ideas."

"You really believe in us?" Fred whispered.

"Of course!" I nodded.

George looked sincerely touched, "We haven't told anyone else yet."

"Really? No one?" I was genuinely surprised.

"Nope – but now that we know you believe in us…" George paused, his face an odd shade of red.

"What my twin means to say is," Fred sighed, "That gave us a real confidence boost, thank you."

"Oh no problem," I grinned.

"We have Lee to help us with the things we aren't good at – he took Arithmancy and he's actually going to pass his Potions O.W.L. We plan on telling him next. And, _obviously_, when you leave Hogwarts, if you need a job and the business is going well…" George's voice trailed off into the air.

"I honestly have not thought about what I'm going to do with my life after Hogwarts. But I love that I have the option," I grinned, "That's so awesome."

"So we shall prank Malfoy tonight – I do believe we should try out our new invention, Georgie and Maggie," Fred beamed.

"New invention, Freddie and Georgie?" I joked.

"Indeed," George nodded, "Maggie, Freddie and I have come up with this magical thing – the Traveling Stand-Up."

"Oh?"

"Well, you know how Muggles have those Stand-Up cardboard posters of actors, musicians, you know, people they idolize?" Fred continued.

"Yeah," I nodded, "Saw 'em in London."

"Well, we've acquired one – of Malfoy's favorite person in the universe," Fred laughed.

"He says acquired – we developed one," George rolled his eyes, "Using a photo and some magic."

"Oh? Of Dumbledore?"

"No."

"Hermione?"

"We should have, but no."

"Harry?"

"Bingo!" George grinned, "And basically, this cardboard cutout will, on its own steam, follow Malfoy everywhere he goes. Most of the time it will remain hidden – but at opportune moments it will appear. But if anyone other than us tries to touch it, it will disappear and reappear somewhere else."

"We spent a long time developing this. We're surprised Ginny hasn't told you – she was the guinea pig," Fred laughed.

"Haven't had much time to talk to her," I admitted grimly, "Lot's of work for Arithmancy."

"But it works perfectly – she tried to grab the Harry cut out and shove it at us when we laughed hysterically by her, but it just vanished and reappeared in our dorm," Fred grinned.

"So basically, Malfoy will be constantly paranoid, feeling like someone's following him. He'll be scared witless when Harry randomly appears, feel stupid when he sees it's not actually Harry, and be unable to get rid of him… for a while," George sighed.

"After a week the spells wore off and Ginny knocked me off my broom with it," Fred lamented.

"Worth it," George chuckled.

"Alright," I laughed, "Let's do it. Hermione has to be able to see, though. She needs some cheering up."

The poster of Harry was ginormous – life sized, and actually rather realistic looking. Dinner in the Great Hall was about to end and I told Hermione to wait down in the dungeons for the show.

"Just point your wand at it and say _Follow Malfoy_. We'll follow too, just to see the incidental squealing," George explained.

I waved my wand and muttered the words and the poster immediately began following Malfoy directly behind him. Luckily, no one else was around to show Malfoy this fact. Every time he turned around, the poster zoomed rapidly and hid behind a statue, a suit of armor, or some other obstructing object. Malfoy would frown in puzzlement and continue walking.

Eventually, Malfoy turned into the empty chamber that lead to the Slytherin Common Room, and let out a shout.

"POTTER, I'LL TELL PROFESSOR – wait…" Malfoy frowned now. Hermione, who was standing next to us in the opposite dungeon, controlled her giggling behind her hand as Malfoy circled the statue, frowning at it, and tried to grab it. It disappeared in a puff of smoke and Malfoy's eyes widened. We all hid behind the wall before he noticed us and the three of us pranksters high–fived each other joyfully.

"This will provide endless amusement throughout an entire week," I bowed to Hermione and she laughed, shaking her head.

"Honestly, this will drive Malfoy mental. I couldn't be more pleased."

And mental it did drive Malfoy. At many occasions throughout the day screams could be heard, and since it wasn't during term, none of the Professors seemed to care to stop it – not even Snape, who didn't leave his office much. At the end of the week, when the poster was gone, Malfoy was constantly twitchy, jumping around and looking wildly for a Potter poster, flinching when he opened doors, and glaring at every passing person, even Crabbe and Goyle.

My sense of success was palpable.

The first Saturday after the holidays finally ended was the Quidditch Final against Slytherin, so I took over the Buckbeak case, as Hermione was still near-death and Neville was still pronouncing his hatred for all mathematical calculations. Harry had constant practices. I was very discouraged, however; I didn't know what else we could add to the appeal to help Buckbeak. Harry wanted to, in Buckbeak's honor, defeat Malfoy in the worst way possible.

Tensions between the houses were horrific that first week of term, and fights between Slytherins and Gryffindors broke out all over the castle. At one point, I and Pansy Parkinson found ourselves in the corridor outside the dungeon before potions, pulling at each other's hair. I didn't even know what had instigated it, but I had bit her on the hand when she tried to slap me (if I had a reputation, I might as well live up to it) and she pulled on my ponytail violently, jerking me back into a suit of armor. I ran forward and smashed her into the wall, pulling at her manicured short hair, remembering how fake and thin it had felt when I had been her for an hour. After a long time tussling and being caught in a death grip, Professor Snape pried us apart and took twenty five points from each of us, the first interaction I had directly had with him since the boggart incident.

Meanwhile, people kept trying to sabotage Harry, leading to me, Neville, and Hermione acting as Harry's bodyguard for a lot of the time; Seamus, Dean and Ron filling in for Divination; and Gryffindors just in general congregating around him to make sure he wasn't hurt.

The night before the match, the Common Room's tension could be felt in the bones. I had just taken the Animagus potion for the night and still felt warm inside, but I knew when the potion wore off I would be just as tense as the rest of them. None of us could study, we were too nervous. Fred and George were sending an army of follow-posters on innocent unsuspecting first years. Wood was studying a model of a Quidditch field, prodding figures over the field with his wand and muttering to himself. The figure for Harry was adorable and I wanted to keep it for my own evil purposes, but Wood protested and said 'he couldn't do that to his star seeker, he had a heart after all.' Angelina, Alicia, and Katie were laughing at the parade of follow-posters, which now included Harry Potter, Professor Snape, Professor Dumbledore, Percy Weasley, and the Minister of Magic.

"We thought about doing Sirius Black," George explained, "But we felt that might be a line that shouldn't be crossed."

Harry was simply staring at the fire as I sat next to him, trying to distract him from his terror. Neville and Hermione, who were terrified as well and hadn't taken a warm soul-searching Animagus potion, weren't helping. Eventually, Harry was ordered to bed.

"You'll be fine, Harry," I reassured, patting him on the arm, "Seriously."

"You can do this," Hermione beamed.

"You're brilliant, you've just got to believe in yourself," Neville nodded.

"Thanks guys," Harry nodded, walking up to the dorm with shaky legs. Fred and George stopped by us before going upstairs.

"Wish us luck, gents," Fred nodded.

"It'll be hard," George sighed.

"But still, it's good to know we've got a support system out there," Fred finished.

"You'll be great, guys," Neville nodded.

"Seriously – you're an unstoppable team," Hermione agreed.

I felt brave. I stood up and walked to George, who was at least a foot taller than me. He looked down at me in shock as I leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

"You'll be great, guys," I murmured in embarrassment, "Seriously."

"Thanks Maggie," Fred smiled, but in a very weird way – almost in a reluctant, but understanding, way. George was flushed bright red but smiled too, saying nothing, leaving behind Fred up to the Common Room.

"Alright, bed?" Hermione suggested. We said our goodnights and went to sleep, but for some reason Neville wouldn't actually look me in the eye.

At the Great Hall that morning, everyone began cheering when the Team walked down to the Gryffindor table. Well, everyone except the Slytherins. As they sat down and began eating quickly, I heard a Scottish voice (well, I had a Scottish accent and so did Harry, but it was still distinctive for me to hear one other than us) call out behind me, "Good luck, Harry!"

Harry's face flushed bright red and I turned around. The Ravenclaw seeker, Cho Chang, was waving at him from their table.

I looked at Harry with wide eyes and he buried his face in his food. Hermione looked at me sadly when he couldn't see and I instantly knew what she had somehow knew at the Ravenclaw match – Harry had a crush on Cho Chang.

Neville looked sad for Hermione too and I frowned. Cho Chang? Really? Hermione shook her head to tell us to not bother Harry about it, but I felt like coming to her defense. She glared at me when she could see I hadn't relented and so I did, sighing. She looked so downtrodden at this turn of events it broke my heart.

We headed to the stands and found Ginny in the crowd, standing in our usual spot with our new banner that read, "RIDE THAT BOLT, LIGHTNING BOLT!" You know, in reference to his scar. Yes, it was cheesy, but Dean had drawn a lion eating a snake that animated and it was worth it.

The brooms rose in the air, and I felt like I needed twenty Butterbeers to calm down. Luckily, I had thought ahead, and I passed covered mugs around to my four other companions (Dean had joined us, as Ron and Seamus apparently made "a lot of very rude comments during Quidditch matches… and I'm talking sailor language."), even Ginny, who was so tiny I worried it would affect her enough to notify her brothers.

"And it's Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goalposts, looking good, Alicia! Argh, no – Quaffle intercepted by Warrington, Warrington of Slytherin tearing up the field – WHAM! Nice Bludger work there by George Weasley, Warrington drops the Quaffle, it's caught by – Johnson, Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina – nice swerve around Montague – _duck, Angelina, that's a Bludger!_ – SHE SCORES! TEN – ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

Angelina punched the air with her fist and I found myself screaming my approval.

"OUCH!"

Her scream could be heard at the Gryffindor end and she was nearly thrown from her broom by Marcus Flint. I booed along with the crowd as Gryffindor was awarded a penalty, and so was Slytherin due to Fred smashing a bludger into Flint.

"Come on, Alicia!" Lee yelled, "YES! SHE'S BEATEN THE KEEPER! TWENTY – ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

Flint flew towards the Gryffindor goal posts and we all watched with bated breath.

"Course, Wood's a superb Keeper! Superb! Very difficult to pass – very difficult indeed – YES! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! HE'S SAVED IT!"

We all began cheering again and I released my tense grip on the back of the chair in front of me.

"Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession – no! – Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell, Katie Bell for Gryffindor with the Quaffle, shes streaking up the field – THAT WAS DELIBERATE!"

Montague had swerved in front of Katie and grabbed her head rather than the Quaffle.

Madam Hooch's whistle rang and Katie got another penalty shot, making Gryffindor thirty to zero. Harry couldn't catch the snitch, however, until we were more than fifty points up, so that we could win the cup.

"THIRTY – ZERO, TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY CHEATING –"

"Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way –!"

"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!"

I shouted at the top of my lungs across the field, "YOU KNOW HE CAN'T DO THAT PROFESSOR!" For some reason, my voice could be heard above the crowd, which instantly burst into laughter on the Gryffindor side and boos on the Slytherin – perhaps this was a sign my animal form would be very, very loud, since at this point I would be starting to show some traits of it. At any rate, it killed my vocal chords and I decided I needed hot chocolate or tea or something soothing.

In the meantime, Harry had distracted Malfoy and made him think he had seen the snitch, and had managed to make using his extremely fast broomstick the two Slytherin beaters run into each other.

"Ha haa!" Lee laughed, "Too bad, boys! You'll need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt! And it's Gryffindor in possession again, as Johnson takes the Quaffle – Flint alongside her – poke him in the eye, Angelina! – it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke – oh no – Flint in possession, Flint flying toward the Gryffindor goalposts, come on now, Wood, save –!"

But Slytherin scored, causing many many boos and Professor McGonagall trying to take the magical megaphone from Lee as he swore like a sailor.

"Sorry Professor, sorry! Won't happen again! So, Gryffindor in the lead, thirty points to ten, and Gryffindor in possession –"

It was a very very violent game. I felt myself bite my fingernails constantly, Hermione was pulling at her hair, and Neville had begun pacing in the stands. Ginny was constantly jumping up and down, Dean was screaming at the top of his lungs, and the swears we heard from Seamus and Ron behind us were so dirty I felt myself blush (and I had a strong stomach for swears, thanks.) People were hitting each other with beater clubs and knocking each other off of brooms, and Harry continuously faked out Malfoy for the snitch on top of it.

Gryffindor was leading now, Fifty-ten, with Fred and George protecting her like bodyguards. However, because of this, the Slytherin beaters attacked Wood with the bludgers. Hooch was outraged.

"YOU DO NOT ATTACK THE KEEPER UNLESS THE QUAFFLE IS WITHIN THE SCORING AREA!" Hooch screeched, giving Gryffindor another penalty shot. Soon after that, we were up seventy ten. It was time for Harry to do his thing. I found myself screaming "COME ON HARRY! KICK SOME ASS! YOU DIDN'T FACE VOLDEMORT TWICE, GIANT SPIDERS, RIDE A DRAGON, AND KILL A BASILISK FOR NOTHING! KICK ASS! SHOW THOSE BITCHES WHAT POTTERS ARE MADE OF!"

"Ride a dragon?" Dean asked next to me in a very hoarse voice.

"Long story," I answered calmly.

Malfoy, however, had grabbed onto Harry's broom tail to slow him down from catching the Snitch, and Gryffindor got another Penalty while I found myself screaming horrifically bad curse words at Malfoy.

"_Maggie!_" Neville gasped in outrage.

"BUT HE _IS_ A C-"

"Please, don't grace us with that again," Hermione sighed.

"YOU CHEATING SCUM!" Lee Jordan was yelling, dancing out of Professor McGonagall's reach, "YOU FILTHY, CHEATING BASTARD!"

Professor McGonagall was even shaking her finger at Malfoy.

The penalty was missed and the Slytherins gained momentum, scoring again. Harry and Malfoy were neck in neck, practically throwing each other off their brooms.

Angelina had the Quaffle and was heading to the Slytherin posts, but the team was surrounding them and she'd never get through. Harry dove forward, however, so quickly that he scattered them all in terror, leaving Angelina free to score.

"GRYFFINDOR LEADS EIGHTY TO TWENTY! GO HARRY!" Lee screamed, "GO ANGELINA!"

But Malfoy was chasing the snitch and I was insulting Harry for the first time, screaming at him to get his scrawny ass down to the Snitch. Harry spotted it; he was zooming forward, the Firebolt was much faster than Malfoy's puny broom, he was speeding down, down, down – and he caught the snitch.

It was as if a bomb exploded in the stands, everyone was cheering so much.

Hermione, Neville, and I dropped everything and sprinted down from the stands, running faster than any of us had run in our lives, and we were all pretty accustomed to running at this point. I felt like I was flying as I ran through the field and threw myself at Harry, giving him the biggest hug we had ever shared. Hermione and Neville followed in my footsteps as everyone began crowding around, cheering and crying. Hagrid was shouting in happiness, Percy was jumping up and down like a manic, Professor McGonagall and Wood were sobbing uncontrollably, and the three of us hoisted Harry onto our shoulders and began carrying him up to the castle, somehow more coordinated than ever before.

Fred and George prodded me in the shoulder the moment we had finished the long Gryffindor procession to the common room and I beamed at them, throwing my arms around them.

"YOU GUYS WERE BRILLIANT!" I sobbed.

Fred and George looked alarmed at my emotional outburst.

"Alright, alright," Fred laughed, "We know, no need to cry."

"Sorry, I just have a lot of feelings," I laughed, making fun of myself.

"To the Three Broomsticks! We sold enough Follow-Posters to buy enough Butterbeer for months," George beamed. We went down to the Three Broomsticks and brought back kegs of the stuff, then headed to the kitchens and got enough food for the entire population of America. We reentered the Common Room, and everyone screamed and cheered at the arrival of the party supplies. Everyone began dancing around to the muggle pop music (actually it was supposedly called 'hip-hop'; whatever, it was good to dance to.) Hermione and Harry were dancing together, to my amusement; Harry was spinning Hermione around and she was laughing hysterically, both awkward but kind of adorable. Neville was grinning next to me and downing Butterbeer.

"Oi! Johnson!" George shouted as midnight came and went and people were flat out drunk with all the Butterbeer at this point.

"Yeah Weasley?" I shouted back. He came up to me, not drunk but still tipsy, and handed me a pile of green things – a bouquet of tiger lilies.

"Remembered these were your favorite," George explained, "Went down to Hogsmeade again, when you weren't paying attention – talking to Longbottom or something – and got 'em."

"What for?" I laughed, but my heart had started pounding in my ears.

"Well, to be honest, my confidence has been boosted through the roof after this – and, well, I've decided to finally ask this," George declared.

"What?" I demanded again.

"D'you want to go on a date with me?" George asked, his face flushed red, "When exams are over, of course. I know you want to do well."

I felt my own face flush red and I stammered, "Y-Yes, yes I'd love to, George."

"BRILLIANT!" George cheered, raising his arms in the air and doing a backflip. I laughed, hugging the flowers to my chest, feeling my face flush red and even more joy rush through me. I didn't think I could possibly _be_ any happier than this.

"That was probably much too long in coming. I should have asked you out in September," George finally explained when he returned from his display of euphoria.

"Oh?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Yeah. Fred thought it was a terrible idea and would break up our friendship, and then I thought you hated me, but you just hated Siobhan – anyways, all water under the bridge now," George shrugged.

I laughed and beamed at him widely, turning to find my friends. I thought I had seen Neville by the boy's staircase, but he wasn't there now. At any rate, I ran up to Harry and Hermione.

"_Guys_, guess what?" I gasped.

"What?" they asked in unison, still dancing together. Harry had spun Hermione out the length of his arm and pulled her back to him, making Hermione's cheeks flush brilliant red.

"George just asked me out! And I said yes!" I beamed.

"Wait, what?!" Harry gasped in shock.

"That's great, Maggie!" Hermione cheered, but there was something in her voice – something sad, like she couldn't be entirely happy for me. I chose to ignore it. If she had something to say, she should say it.

"I can't believe it. It's going to take me a very long time to get used to this," Harry shook his head, "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you, but –"

"I'm your sister and it's weird for you?" I laughed.

"I'm going to have to obligatorily tell him I'll beat him up if he mistreats you. Well, magically beat him up. I think I'm too scrawny to manage it manually," Harry grinned.

"Fair enough," I beamed.

The night went on for a very long time – in fact, we all stayed up all night, except for a few people including Neville, who I still couldn't find anywhere. George and I spent a long time dancing together in silly ways, my face flushed with happiness and Butterbeer.

But, like George had allotted for in the timing of the fateful date, the celebration had to end. Exams were approaching with the arrival of June soon after the match and I found myself studying constantly. Though Transfiguration and Herbology were, as always, in the bag, everything else was important. Care of Magical Creatures had joined the easy train, and I wasn't too worried about Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Potions I had to study a lot for. Charms and History of Magic made me want to cry, and Astronomy was a joke as always.

Hermione was excessively stressed, and her exam schedule looked completely screwed up when I read it. Many of her exams were scheduled for the same time and I just stared at it in confusion.

"Hermione, when are you planning on sleeping?" I asked calmly.

"I'll find the time," Hermione frowned.

"I don't see how," Neville muttered under his breath. He had been very distant with me since the match and I had no idea why. It made me very sad indeed and I wanted to confront him about it, but with his extreme stress due to Arithmancy I decided it would be kinder to wait until after exams.

Harry came running up to our maths study group then, waving a piece of paper over his head and slamming it down on the table.

"It's from Hagrid," Harry sighed, "Buckbeak's appeal is set for the sixth."

"That's the day we finish exams – we'll be able to help," I offered.

"But they're coming up here to do it…." Harry sighed, "Someone from the Ministry of Magic and… and… and an executioner."

"_WHAT_?!" the three of us shouted.

"That sounds like they've already decided!" I snarled loudly.

"Yep," Harry nodded gravely.

"Well they can't. They simply can't," Hermione scowled, "I won't _let_ them."

Malfoy regained his swagger from the Quidditch defeat, acting like he owned the place again and gloating over Buckbeak's impending doom. In response, George and I sent after him a traveling Hagrid, which made the familiar high pitch Malfoy screams fill the castle once again.

My relationship with Fred and George was interesting now when I was with the two of them. George didn't want to make Fred uncomfortable, so while we studied charms together (the two of them helping me out a lot in order to revise for their O.W.L,) there was no physical contact whatsoever. But the moment Fred was gone, George was holding my hand and sending butterflies through my stomach constantly as a result.

The night before our first exams, I found Hermione falling asleep on top of her books by the girl's staircase. Neville had almost completely ignored me when I had passed him in the corridor and it had made me very upset – I didn't know why Neville was mad at me and I wanted to fix it. He was one of my best friends.

"Hermione? Hermione!" I shouted. She jumped with a start and looked up at me.

"Oh, Maggie! What's up?" she yawned.

"What's wrong with Neville?" I asked in a very firm voice, "And don't pretend there's nothing wrong, he ignores me all the time now."

"Oh… erm…" Hermione was flushed, "I don't know why, but I promise I'll talk to him, alright? Really, I promise."

Unfortunately, I was so distracted by exams and work that I couldn't focus on the issue. Lucky for me, Transfiguration was our first exam, so I came out of it feeling confident and relaxed – we had to turn a teapot into a tortoise and I had done so easily. Hermione was sort of freaking out hers was more like a turtle, but compared to the worries of everyone around us, this wasn't a worry in the slightest. However, on the other hand, our second exam was Charms, which pretty much raped me, forgive the vulgarity. I couldn't get the Cheering Charm right due to my stress and Hermione left the room laughing hysterically.

We had Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, and Astronomy the second day, so I spent my evening cramming for those and trying to forget my charms disaster. Hagrid was depressed during the exam, his heart not in it. He simply made us feed the flobberworms, but since the best way to deal with them was to leave them alone, the four of us approached him to talk.

"Beaky's depressed," Hagrid sighed, "Bin cooped up too long… we'll know day after tomorrow, though, one way or another…"

Potions went alright for me; Snape seemed to be finally calming down after our screaming match. I managed to get my Confusing Concotion to thicken, but Harry and Neville seemed to be struggling. Astronomy at midnight was fine indeed.

The next day we had History of Magic, then Hermione and I had Ancient Runes, and then we all had Herbology. History of Magic was a disaster, and I just prayed I had managed to bullshit enough information to pass. Ancient Runes went alright, though I wished I had my dictionaries; recalling the Anglo Saxon from memory was fine, and Egyptian was alright, but the Chinese still confused me. Herbology was wonderful, even though it was hot and sunny; Neville was in his element and that made me happy, even though I had no clue why he was annoyed with me.

Finally, it was the last day. We had Defense Against the Dark Arts in the morning and either Arithmancy or Divination in the afternoon. The DADA exam was an obstacle course prepared by Professor Lupin. I had been doing a lot of boggart practice and braced myself for Lupin's exam, knowing that this was my last chance to face the thing. We had to wade across a pool with a grindylow, cross a series of potholes with Red Caps, squash through marsh while ignoring the hinkypunk, and then climb into a trunk and battle with a boggart.

Harry went through it all easily, managing to come out of the trunk with full marks. I was next, and I braced myself, rushing forward bravely. I got through most of it fine – I fell for the hinkypunk a few times, but I managed to escape and reached the boggart and braced myself.

_Crack!_ Harry lay dead in front of me in the trunk. I remembered what Lupin had told me – try and make him something funny before you realize exactly what you're seeing. So I pictured Harry becoming a poster and following Malfoy around.

"_Riddikulus!_" I shouted. Harry became a following poster, his tongue sticking out. I laughed loudly at the boggart and climbed out of the trunk triumphantly.

"Brilliant Maggie!" Lupin beamed, "Great job. Not quite full marks, but close."

"Thanks professor!" I laughed.

It was Neville's turn. He did very well, too. Though he needed to use magic to break the grindylow's grip and got points off for that (it was more efficient to do it manually), and kept believing the hinkypunk, he managed to reach the boggart as well and came out of there looking proud of himself.

"Excellent work, Neville! Good job," Lupin praised. The three of us then waited for Hermione, who got past everything perfectly until she came out of the trunk screaming and sobbing.

"Hermione!" Lupin gasped, "What's the matter?"

"P-P-Professor Mcgonagall!" Hermione gasped, "Sh-she said I'd failed everything!"

It took us a while to calm her down. Since she had done everything else perfectly, her score wasn't marked down too much. We headed up to the castle together, ready for our final final. Neville was muttering complex mathematical formulae under his breath, I was practicing trig functions with my wand, and Harry was simply trying to cheer Hermione up after Defense Against the Dark Arts.

We headed up to the classroom and began doing the complex mathematics immediately, as we could start when we sat down. Certain parts were difficult – using quadratic algebraic equations to determine the precise date the muggle Queen would die provided no unforeseen events occur had me stumped for ten full minutes. Neville next to me had his brow furrowed in concentration and Hermione was scribbling furiously on the other side. But, we finished, packing up our books and high fiving each other as we left the room. Hermione excused herself to go to the bathroom and I was left alone with Neville.

"Good job, Nev," I said calmly, trying to pretend nothing was wrong, "You really worked hard."

"Thanks Maggie," Neville paused, "I'm sorry I've been so rude lately."

I let out a sigh of relief, "I'm just glad you're finally admitting it."

Neville laughed, "Yeah, I was being immature about some things."

"Like what?" I asked, frowning.

"Don't… don't worry about it. Besides, we have more important things to worry about – the trial's today," Neville scowled.

I looked at him in concern, "Are you sure? I can try to do something to fix it – really, I don't like making you upset…"

Neville smiled strangely, "No, I realized I _didn't_ want you to do anything to fix it."

"I'm confused," I laughed.

"I'll tell you when you're older," Neville rolled his eyes, "Come on, we've got to sneak out to give Hagrid some defense…"

"We can't, Dumbledore's going to be there," I sighed, "We're going to have to pray for Hagrid."

We reached the Common Room and I saw George in the back of the room, grinning at me. I smiled at Neville apologetically and walked over to him, giving him a hug.

"You finished?" George asked in my ear.

"Yeah," I beamed, "You?"

"Thank Merlin, yes. Do you want to do something tonight, or…?"

"Well, to be honest, today's the Appeal for Buckbeak… I might not be in the mood," I frowned apologetically.

"Of course," George nodded in understanding, "That's fine, really. I'll hang out with Fred and Lee."

"Cool. Maybe tomorrow?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Sounds great," George beamed and left to go talk to his twin and Lee in the other corner of the room. I turned back to Neville, and Hermione, who had appeared at his side. Hermione was shaking like mad and Neville's fists were clenched and they were reading a piece of paper. I ran over to them and ripped it out of Hermione's hands, reading. Hagrid's handwriting was so shaky I could practically not read it.

_Lost appeal. They're going to execute at sunset. Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't want you to see it.  
Hagrid_

"We've got to go down," I declared firmly, "I don't care how."

Neville and Hermione nodded.

"We have to wait for Harry to come back from Divination. I'm sure it's take a while because she has to do everyone individually," Hermione sighed.

We all sat down at our usual table, waiting for Harry to enter the portrait hole. It was amazing how such a good mood could have been murdered like that in the span of two short seconds.

AN: Sorry for the lack of AN yesterday! My life was crazy thanks to family members. Not sure if the next chapter will be the last of PoA or not - to be honest, I think there really will be two this time, just because of the time turner and all. But we're approaching the end! Huzzah! GoF is one of my favorites in this story because the changes are real and blatantly noticeable at last. Well, to be honest, from GoF on they're noticeable, but that's like the first you know? Haha.

Shout Outs! Thank you to TurbooneTwenty, Mikki88, becky199756, shamzika, James68, yunibell, and for favoriting/following this story. And, thus, thank you Viola Potterhead Girl, NiebiskiLis, Edmond O'Donald, rangerhero, Cooky Crumbla, puncher71, Marvin, DreamCatcher1991, hectorav, shamzika, and James68 for reviewing (a lot of you twice.) I hope you'll review again! Reviews always make my day, seriously.

Please Review, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	24. Ch 23: June 9, 1994, Hogwarts

Chapter Twenty-Three: June 9, 1994, Hogwarts

Harry ran into the Common Room, out of breath and frantic looking.

"Professor Trelawney," Harry panted, coming up to us, "Just told me…"

We all frowned at him and he stopped talking.

"Buckbeak lost," I snarled, "Hagrid's just sent this."

Harry read Hagrid's letter rapidly, his eyes widening with every word.

"We've got to go," Harry declared immediately, "He can't just sit there on his own, waiting for the executioner!"

"We'll need the invisibility cloak… Can it cover all four of us?" I whispered.

"Let's see, I haven't used it since we snuck into Hogsmeade," Harry nodded. We all walked up to the boy's dormitory together and Harry pulled out the cloak.

"Neville, I really wish you weren't so tall," Harry frowned.

"Sorry mate," Neville sighed.

Harry threw the cloak over us and we checked our feet. We were _just_ covered, so we would have to move slowly underneath the thing, and remain tightly packed together. We were so tightly packed together that I was sort of wedged between Harry and Neville; Hermione was in the middle and felt _really_ squished as the three of us surrounded her. I felt very strange and almost nervous with Neville pressed so close against me, and I tried to ignore this completely nonsensical feeling.

"Alright, let's go to dinner. I'll bring the cloak with me and we'll sneak out afterwards," Harry decided. Hermione nodded in agreement, I gave him a grim expression, and Neville's face was oddly flushed. We headed down to dinner together and sat down, the twins and Ginny coming up to us and talking amiably. George sat down immediately next to me and took my hand, making me flush uncontrollably and stare down at my plat.

"What did you find out about Buckbeak?" he murmured in concern. I looked up at him and frowned sadly.

"No," George whispered. I nodded and he squeezed my hand tighter.

"Are you going to be okay tonight? Do you need… I dunno… someone to… yeah?" George's face was flushed with embarrassment.

"Ah… Thanks, George, but we were…" I gestured to my three best friends and mouthed the words _Sneak out to see Hagrid_. George nodded immediately and turned back to his food.

Dinner ended and we headed to an empty chamber off of the Great Hall, waiting until the coast was clear and throwing the cloak over ourselves, pressing in tightly again. I could feel Neville's breath on the back of my neck and I tried to ignore it. We snuck outside, walking as close together as we could, tip-toeing through the sunset lit grounds. We finally reached Hagrid's door and knocked, and he opened the door looking wildly for us.

"It's us, under the Cloak," Harry hissed, "Let us in and we can take it off."

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered, but he stood back and we stepped inside. Hagrid wasn't crying, and he didn't fling himself on us. He was completely helpless, he looked as if he had no idea what to do or where to go. I felt so bad for him I wanted to go outside and just fly Buckbeak away, take all the blame for the crime. So I'd never come to Hogwarts again – at least Hagrid would be better.

"Wan' some tea?" Hagrid asked, his hands shaking.

"Where's Buckbeak, Hagrid?" Hermione asked kindly.

"I – I took him outside," Hagrid explained, spilling milk all over the table, "He's tethered in me pumpkin patch. Thought he oughta see the trees an' – an' smell fresh air – before –"

Hagrid's hands shook madly and the milk jug fell from his grasp, shattering all over the floor.

"Here, Hagrid, let me," I murmured, rushing over and cleaning up the mess.

"There's another in the cupboard," Hagrid responded, sitting down in exhaustion.

"Isn't there anything anyone can do, Hagrid?" Harry asked in a determined voice, "Dumbledore…"

"He's tried, but he's got no power ter overrule the Committee. He told 'em Buckbeak's all right, but they're scared… Yeh know what Lucius Malfoy's like… threatened 'em, I expect…" Hagrid sighed.

"Well, none of them have met me," I snapped angrily, slamming the milk jug down on the table in fury.

"She has a point. I'm sure they'd be more scared of Maggie," Neville laughed. I rolled my eyes.

"Be that as it may, Macnair's an old pal o' Malfoy's… but it'll be quick an' clean… an' I'll be beside him…"

Hagrid couldn't even seem to release any emotion and I ran my hands through my hair, wanting to pull it out if it would help.

"Domedore's gonna come down while it – while it happens. Wrote me this mornin'. Said he wants ter – ter be with me. Great man, Dumbledore…" Hagrid sighed.

Hermione let out a sob and said, "We'll stay with you too, Hagrid…"

"No," Hagrid responded bluntly, "Yeh're ter go back up ter the castle. I told yeh, I don' wan' yeh watchin'. An' yeh shouldn' be down here anyway… If Fudge an' Dumbledore catch yeh out without permission, Harry, yeh'll be in big trouble."

Hermione began sobbing hysterically and started to make tea when I had handed her the kettle, abysmal with any sort of kitchen activities myself. Suddenly, she let out a shriek.

"_Guys_, I don't believe it – it's – it's _Scabbers!_"

We all looked at her like she was nutters.

"Scabbers is dead, last I checked," Neville frowned.

Hermione carried over the milk jug and turned it over. Scabbers the rat scurried out, trying desperately to get back inside, but Harry had grabbed the rat, frowning at it.

"What's he doing here?" Harry frowned, "Ron was so convinced…"

Scabbers looked like he hadn't eaten since he left the castle, his hair was falling out in bald patches, and he writhed madly to free himself from Harry's grip.

"Merlin," Harry grunted, "I can't hold onto this and get the cloak…"

"Here," Neville nodded and took the rat from Harry. Hagrid was staring out the window, muttering, "They're comin'…"

We all whirled around, Neville struggling with the ugly rat, to see Dumbledore, Cornelius Fudge, a feeble old man, and an ugly man with sleek black hair and a goatee.

"Yeh gotta go," Hagrid stated firmly, though he himself was trembling madly, "They mustn' find yeh here… Go now… I'll let yeh out the back way."

We followed out to the back garden, where Buckbeak was tethered and pawing the ground nervously. It was so surreal to see him there, knowing he was on the way to die. I wanted to sob but I restrained myself.

"It's okay, Beaky," Hagrid murmured, "It's okay… Go on," he ordered us, "Get goin'."

I found my feet were stuck to the ground.

"Hagrid, we can't –"

"We'll tell them about Malfoy and how much of a dirty, lying –"

"This isn't _right_ –"

"They can't kill him –"

"Go!" Hagrid snarled, "It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"

Hermione threw the Cloak over us all and we scrunched together to fit underneath it again. Hagrid hissed to us, "Go quick, Don' listen…" and we began walking together slowly around Hagrid's house, to the other side. The front door to the hut closed with a snap.

"Oh let's hurry," Hermione whimpered, "I can't stand it, I can't bear it… I can't…"

We started walking to the castle, but Neville was having trouble. We had to stop halfway up the hill as he struggled with the stupid rat.

"Oh just let Scabbers go, Ron thinks he's dead anyway," I hissed.

"Please, I don't want to be here, Neville," Hermione begged.

"We can't," Neville snapped, "He's Ron's rat and we have to bring him back."

A door opened behind us and we heard people talking. I whirled around in panic and held onto the bloody rat, my hands above Neville's and trying to stop it from struggling.

"Don't _kill_ the thing," Harry hissed.

"Everyone'll hear us!" Neville moaned.

"Oh, they're going to do it now, I can't…" Hermione groaned.

"Look, if we don't move, I'm going to rip off this Cloak and start a coup – strangle Macnair, bully the Committee dude, whatever. So we've got to _go_," I hissed.

The rat had begun to squeal loudly, but not loudly enough to reach Hagrid's garden as I tried to muffle the thing. There were many indistinct male voices talking over one another, then silence, and then the swish and thud of an axe.

Hermione swayed in horror and leaned on Harry, sobbing.

"They did it! I d-d-don't believe it – they did it!"

I stared out at the Hut in shock, unable to process the information that had just entered my head. We all looked at each other in expressions of equal horror, frozen to the spot. The sun was setting and we could hear wild howling in the distance.

"Hagrid," Harry muttered. He turned around but we all grabbed him by the arm.

"No, Harry," I hissed, "Hagrid'll get in trouble if they found out we visited him."

Scabbers was still writhing madly between me and Neville and we both grunted with the effort of trying to keep him still. We managed, however, to reach open ground, somehow.

"Why – won't – he – stay – still?" Neville grunted as we stopped for the millionth time.

"I – bloody – hate – this – rat!" I hissed, "OUCH!" The rat had bit me and I dropped my hands, leaving Scabbers only to be controlled by Neville.

"Maggie, be quiet! We can't be heard by Fudge!" Hermione whispered angrily.

"Stay still!" Neville growled at the rat, "What's the _matter_ with him?"

Harry's eyes widened at something and I spun around under the cloak to see Crookshanks slinking towards us, low to the ground, his bright red hair standing out against the green grass. I graoned loudly.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione moaned, "No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!"

The cat was getting nearer and Scabbers writhed more in Neville's grip.

"Scabbers – NO!" Neville shouted, leaping after the rat as it fell to the ground, catching it before it scampered away. Crookshanks flung himself on top of Neville, causing Neville to shout in shock. He was out of the cloak and I threw it off of me, trying to get the cat off of my friend, hissing in anger. The rat had gotten out of Neville's grip and he stumbled to his feet, sprinting after it.

"Ron – owes – me –big –time!" Neville roared.

I followed him, throwing Crookshanks back at Hermione and sprinting through the grass. Hermione and Harry both followed behind us, running at their fastest.

"Guys, we've got to get back under the cloak!" Harry hissed, "Forget the bloody rat!"

Neville had managed to grab onto the rat and I had collapsed in the grass next to him. I stood up and turned to help him, since it was hard for him to get up with the rat squealing and writing in his hadns. But before I could do so, something was running towards us – a giant, shaggy, pale-eyed, jet-black dog. The dog leapt over Neville and knocked Harry to the ground, rolling off Harry in the next instant and had grabbed Neville, who had managed to stumble to his feet from the shock of the dog's appearance, by the leg with his maw. The dog jerked backward and began dragging Neville away.

"_NO!"_ I shouted, grabbing onto Neville's outstretched hand as he held tightly to the rat in the other. The dog still managed to drag the pair of us, Neville looking at me in terror and shouting in terror. Hermione and Harry were trying to stop the dog but it was too dark now, the dog blended in. They were knocked out of the way by something I couldn't see and soon after, as I was being dragged further away, I saw Harry's lit wand. We were at the base of the Womping Willow, and the dog was dragging me and Neville beneath its roots.

"MAGGIE! NEVILLE!" the other two screamed, but no matter how much I clawed at the dirt to escape being dragged underneath the violent tree the dog was too strong. He continued to drag us through a dark, dimly lit passageway lined with dirt, Neville simply whimpering now as I squeezed his hand tightly, still trying to fight and get him to come back with me and being unable to.

"GO!" Neville roared when he saw I wasn't going to stop trying to bring him back.

"I'M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT YOU, YOU BLOODY IDIOT!" I snarled. The passageway continued on and the dog kept dragging us. Neville looked simply shocked at my words and didn't say another protest at my being dragged away with him. The tunnel began to rise and I could see in the darkness, somehow, that Neville was crying slightly – tears were in his eyes and I could only imagine how much pain he was in. We finally entered a disordered, dusty room, with paper peeling from the walls. Stains littered the floor, the furniture was demolished, and the windows were boarded. Neville was dropped by the great dog and we collapsed on the wooden floor, looking at each other in terror.

Suddenly, a tall shadow loomed above us. We both looked above us to see _Sirius Black_ looming above us, still in his prisoner robes, his hair matted and endlessly long, his eyes shining out of deep dark sockets with waxy skin stretched tightly over his face.

"Get upstairs, both of you," he ordered calmly.

Neville's mouth was open in horror and I was stammering, "You're… you're an… an Animagus…"

"Good job, smart, just like your mum. Oh, I'll take that," Black grabbed Neville's wand out of his pocket and pointed it at us, "Upstairs. Now."

"No," I stated firmly, standing up on shaking legs, pulling out my own wand, "No."

"Do as I say," Black said in a very calm voice. I knew he was implying the _or else_ bit. Neville's face was wide with terror and I helped him up, letting him lean on me as he held onto the rat. His leg was a bloody mess, gnawed raw, and he clearly couldn't walk on it. It was hard for him to lean on me, as I was barely five feet tall and he had reached the six feet mark. But, because of the look on Black's face, we managed to get up the stairs and sat in a corner of the room there.

"Your friends will be coming for you. Sit there," Black pointed to a spot across from the door.

"You won't kill Harry, not with me around!" I shouted, "You'll have to kill me first! You will!"

"Only one will die tonight, now _sit there_," Black hissed, "And give me the rat."

"What bloody for?" I threw my arms up in the air and smashed them on my legs, helping Neville to the spot across the way. I wanted to jinx Black so badly, but he knew immediately that I was going to and shouted, "_Expelliarmus!_"

"That took you long enough," I stated dully, sitting next to Neville who was still in shock-and-terror mode.

"Merlin, you're like your mum," Sirius Black sighed, "Lie down, you'll damage the leg even more."

Neville grunted with pain and I helped him lie down. This was extraordinarily strange – why would Sirius Black care about Neville's leg?

"You're Longbottom, yes?" Black frowned, "Neville?"

Neville nodded, now recovered enough to glare at Black with me.

"You look a lot like your mum," Black continued conversationally, "She also –"

"Oh stop chit-chatting!" I sneered, "Do you honestly think you can talk to us when you're going to kill Harry? Do you seriously think we'll listen to you?"

Black opened his mouth again but sounds could be heard in the distance. He slunk into the shadows, behind the door. Footsteps were coming up the steps and I found myself praying for it to be _anyone but_ Harry.

But then Harry and Hermione appeared at the top of the steps, dashing across to me and Neville.

"Neville, are you okay?" Hermione gasped.

"Where's the dog?" Harry demanded.

"It's not a dog," I sneered, "Harry, It's a trap!"

"What –"

"_Sirius Black is an animagus, he's the dog!_"

Harry and Hermione wheeled around to see Sirius Black as he reappeared out of the shadows, grinning slightly.

"_Expelliarmus!_" he croaked, and Harry and Hermione's wands flew in the air into his hand.

"I thought you'd come and help your friends," Black explained hoarsely, "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful… it will make everything much easier…"

Harry started forward to attack him but I jumped up, holding him back with Hermione.

"No, Harry!" Hermione sobbed.

"If you want to kill my brother," I snapped, stepping in front of Harry, "You'll have to kill me first."

"_Maggie –_"

"No, Harry," I whirled around, "I'd rather die than see you hurt."

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," Black stated calmly, his grin widening.

"Why's that?" Harry spat, trying to wrench himself free from me and Hermione, "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew… What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"

"Harry!" Hermione whimpered.

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Harry roared. I felt my eyes widen. Usually, it was my job to be mad; this was bizarre for me. He managed to lunge forward out of our grip at our shock and rushed forward to Sirius Black, knocking the wands out of his hand, punching Black in the side of the face. Hermione started screaming and I was shouting in horror, Neville yelling despite the intense pain he was in. A jet of sparks burst from the wands and missed Harry by inches.

Black's free hand swung out of nowhere and fastened around Harry's throat, hissing, "No, I've waited too long –"

Hermione rushed forward and kicked Black in the side of the head with all the force she could muster as I roared and ran forward, biting Black on the wrist that was choking Harry on pure impulse. Black groaned with pain and shock and let go. Neville had thrown himself on Black's wand hand and something clattered. Harry broke free and dove towards his wand on the ground, but Crookshanks had appeared out of nowhere and was attacking Harry, but Harry managed to shove the cat across the room and grabbed his wand, whirling around and getting to his feet.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Harry roared. Hermione, Neville and I backed away rapidly, me wiping Black's blood from my mouth. Neville looked to be in extreme pain, his white face green now, clutching his broken leg with one hand and Scabbers with the other. Hermione grabbed our wands and threw me mine, which I caught in the air. Harry pointed his at Black and stalked towards him.

"Going to kill me, Harry?" black whispered.

"You killed my parents," Harry sneered, his wand steady but his voice shaking.

"I don't deny it," Black responded quietly, "But if you knew the whole story…"

"What story?!" I roared, "You sold them to Voldemort! That's the worst thing – the most awful thing –"

"Maggie, shut up," Harry sighed. I glared back to him as he continued, "But she's right. That's all I need to know."

"You've got to listen to me, you'll regret it if you don't… You don't understand…" Black continued, his voice urgent.

"I understand a lot better than you think," Harry's voice was shaking, "You never heard her, did you? My mum… trying to stop Voldemort killing me… my dad, telling her to run away… and you did that… you did it…"

Crookshanks leapt through the air and landed on Black, blocking him from Harry. Hermione began sobbing on the other side of Harry and Harry's eyes narrowed at the cat. Harry raised his wand, bracing himself. But he was frozen, everyone staring at him in anticipation, Neville whimpering with pain nearby and then, suddenly, muffled footsteps were echoing from the downstairs.

"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed, "WE'RE UP HERE! SIRIUS BLACK! – _QUICK!_"

We all wheeled around and saw Professor Lupin enter the room, his face bloodless, his wand raised and ready.

"I was looking out my window," he explained calmly, "I saw you two, Neville, Maggie, get dragged underneath the Womping Willow… I saw Harry and Hermione follow you… and I saw the great, big, black dog," he whirled and faced Sirius Black.

"Remus – Remus, it's not what you think," Black begged.

"I don't see why I should believe you," Lupin responded in a cold voice, "Seeing as what believing you got James and Lily."

"Longbottom – Neville – Neville has the rat, Neville has _Wormtail_, Moony, _Wormtail_," Black begged.

Lupin's eyes looked skeptical but he turned to face Neville, "Neville, may I see the rat?"

Neville handed Lupin the creature, his face contorted with pain.

"I'll do something for that leg, don't worry," he murmured kindly, picking up the rat. Lupin looked down at the creature and his eyes widened.

"No… it _can't_ be…"

But I was similarly shocked.

"Wait… Moony? Wormtail? As in… Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs?" I gasped.

The two adults looked at me in amazement.

"You're familiar with the map, then," Lupin stated calmly.

"Yeah," I raised my eyebrows, "I got it from a – a friend."

"And she gave it to me," Harry responded calmly.

"That's oddly fitting," Black muttered.

"Shut your face!" I screamed at him.

"Maggie, please, calm down, we don't know all the facts," Lupin stated calmly.

"I know as many facts as I need!" I roared, "Professor, you know – you helped me – you know I can't stand the thought of –"

"I know, Maggie, but if this rat is who I think it is…" Lupin whispered, looking down at the now violently struggling rodent in his hands.

"Rat? Who you think it is?" Hermione croaked.

"Harry, do you have the map _on_ you?" Lupin asked calmly.

Harry nodded, handing Lupin the map after digging it out of his pockets, "Don't leave without it."

"Good," Lupin nodded, opening up the map and whispering, "_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good_."

The map appeared and I stared at Lupin.

"Who… are moony, wormtail, padfoot, and prongs?" I whispered.

"Well, I am Moony," Lupin responded conversationally, "This rat, if Black is correct, is Wormtail. Sirius is Padfoot, and Harry's dad was Prongs."

We all stared at Lupin in shock.

"Good thing I helped to write the map, otherwise I wouldn't be able to extend its field of vision," Lupin continued, prodding the map and making it move over, to right over the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade, where I realized we were. Lupin tapped the map again to look closer at the Shack, and I peered over his shoulder to read the names present.

_Sirius Black, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew_.

"What?!" I shouted.

Lupin nodded in understanding and tapped the map, murmuring, "Mischief Managed."

"What the hell is going on?" Harry snapped.

"Harry – Peter Pettigrew – is on the map –" I raised my eyebrows and spun around to face him.

"He can't be, _he_ killed him," Harry roared, pointing at Black.

Lupin handed me the struggling rat and walked forward to Black. He extended his hand, and helped Black up, suddenly hugging him like a brother.

I felt my mouth drop open and Hermione shouted at the top of her lungs, "I DON'T BELIEVE IT!"

Lupin let go of Black and turned to us, looking at us clamly.

"You – you!" Hermione stammered.

"Hermione, calm down –"

"I didn't tell anyone about you!" Hermione shouted, "I've been covering for you and everything!"

"Hermione, listen to me, please!" Lupin begged.

But Harry was shaking in fury.

"I trusted you!" Harry shouted, "And all this time, you've been his friend!"

I was confused. If I hadn't seen the map, I would have been just as furious as Harry. But Peter Pettigrew being alive seemed to make me feel like the facts didn't make complete sense anymore. If Black didn't kill Pettigrew…

"You're wrong," Lupin answered calmly, "I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now, please, let me explain…"

"NO!" Hermione screamed, "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too – _he's a werewolf!_"

There was dead silence. Neville let out a squeak of terror and I looked at Lupin calmly. So he was a werewolf. I was more upset at the first two.

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," Lupin stated, "only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead… But I won't deny that I am a werewolf," Lupin shivered.

Neville looked up at Lupin in terror but I was looking at him calmly. Lupin seemed shocked by this.

"Maggie, I _do_ believe that this is the first time you've been the calmest amongst your friends," Lupin commented.

"I saw the map, Professor," I responded, "And I realize the story isn't what we thought it was."

"Thank you," Black murmured hoarsely.

"It's not for your benefit – I just don't feel like seeing my cousin become a murderer for no reason," I responded in a dull voice, "I want to kill you with equal vigor."

"How long have you know, Hermione?" Lupin interjected.

"Ages," Hermione whispered, "Since I did Professor Snape's essay…"

"He'll be delighted," Lupin responded dully, "He assigned the essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant. What tipped you off?"

"You always fall ill at the full moon, and your boggart was the moon," Hermione whispered.

"You _are_ the cleverest witch of you age, Hermione," Lupin praised forcing a laugh.

"I'm not," Hermione shook her head, "If I'd been cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"

"But they already know – well, the staff do," Lupin sighed, "Dumbledore had to work very hard to convince some of the teachers I am trustworthy."

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry yelled, "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!" Harry pointed to Black, who was now sitting in the four-poster bed.

"I have _not_ been helping Sirius," Lupin responded calmly, "Please let me explain."

"How did you see us? We're on the other side of the castle," Harry commented cautiously.

"I was watching out the window – I knew you four would try to sneak out of the castle to join Hagrid, and even though I knew you'd might be wearing your father's old cloak, I thought I'd try to catch a glimpse at Hagrid's Hut."

"How do you know about the cloak?" Harry asked.

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it… at any rate, I obviously saw you all scuffling with Sirius, whom I immediately recognized," Lupin nodded, "I came down to help, and you know the rest."

"And now you're convinced that Ron's rat is Peter Pettigrew," I murmured calmly.

"_What?!_" Harry snarled.

"He's not a rat, he's an animagus, same as Sirius, same as…" Lupin explained.

"That's bullshit," Harry snapped.

"He is," Black insisted.

"You're mental!" Neville whispered.

"Ridiculous!" Hermione agreed faintly.

"Peter Pettigrew's _dead_!" Harry continued, "_He_ killed him twelve years ago!" Harry pointed at Black.

"I meant to, certainly," Black growled, "But little Peter got the better of me… Remus, _please_ give me the rat of a man."

"Harry deserves to know the truth, they need to understand," Lupin responded.

"We can explain afterwards!" Black snarled, rushing forward, grappling with the rat in Lupin's hand.

"They – should – know – everything!" Lupin roared, leaping back from Black, "I don't understand everything myself! Harry deserves the truth, and so do his friends, for caring about his safety!"

"All right then," Black snapped, "Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus, I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for."

"You're completely mental!" Neville finally managed to gasp out through the pain.

"Please hear me out," Lupin stated calmly.

Harry turned to Lupin, "There were witnesses, people who saw Pettigrew die – a whole street."

"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" Black hissed.

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter, I agree Harry. I thought so myself… until I just saw the map. Until I saw the rat in Neville's hands. Because the Marauder's Map never lies and I knew Pettigrew's rat form so well I would never forget it… same as Sirius' dog form. Peter is alive, and he's in my hands," Lupin murmured.

"But Professor Lupin… Scabbers can't be Pettigrew… it just can't be true, you know it can't…" Hermione whispered.

"Why can't it be true?" Lupin asked calmly, as though we were in class.

"Because… because people would _know_ if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework – the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things… and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list –"

I felt my face turn bright red and I tried to mask it from the others, looking away down at my shoes.

"Right again, Hermione!" Lupin was laughing to our amazement, "But the Ministry never knew that there used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."

"Get a move on with this, Remus. I've done my waiting. Twelve years of it, in Azkaban. I'm not going to wai much longer," Black snarled.

"You'll need to help me, Sirius," Lupin frowned, "I only know how it began after all."

A sound came from downstairs, probably a mouse scurrying along the floor, but Lupin went to check it out anyway.

"No one there…" he nodded.

"Isn't it supposed to be haunted?" Neville asked.

"It's not," Lupin responded, "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted. The screams and howls the villagers heard, attributing them to ghosts, were made by me…. That's where this whole story starts, after all. None of this would have happened if I hadn't been bitten, been turned into a werewolf…"

Lupin looked exhausted. We all nodded for him to continue.

"I was a very small boy when I was bitten. There was no cure in those days, my parents tried but couldn't do anything. The potion I get from Professor Snape is a very recent discovery – it makes me safe, if I take it the week before the full moon. I keep my mind when I transform when I've taken it – I'm able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again. Before the potion was discovered, however, I was a full monster once a month. Werewolves hardly, if ever, came to Hogwarts. In fact, I was the first. I was a danger to myself and to others. But Dumbledore became headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He made precautions so that I could come to school. The Shrieking Shack was made here, and a pathway was made underground to the school. But Dumbledore didn't want people using it, so he planted the Whomping Willow over it. I was smuggled out to the Shack once a month and to transform. The transformations back then were… horrific. The actual physical transformation was painful, and I couldn't bite any humans, so I bit myself. The villagers heard me screaming and assumed that ghosts had moved into the shack. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor, so none of the villagers approached the Shack," Lupin explained.

"But, when I came to school, the transformation almost didn't seem as painful – I was happier than I had ever been before. I had friends, for the first time in my life – Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and James Potter. Of course, they noticed that I disappeared once a month. I made up stories – my sister was abroad and wanted me to see her, my mum was ill and needed me to visit her – but eventually they figured it out. I was terrified they would leave me. But instead, they decided to do something to help make my transformation more bearable – they became Animagi," Lupin explained.

"My dad, too?" Harry gasped.

"Of course. It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school – fortunately, because the transformation can go a terribly wrong. Peter had to rely completely on James and Sirius. In fifth year, they finally managed it. They kept me company as animals during my transformations, sneaking out of the castle every month under James's cloak. They transformed and slipped into the tunnel – Peter would press the knot that froze the Willow, they would go down and join me in their animal forms. With them around, I was less dangerous – my mind a little bit returned to me. Soon we were leaving the Shack and roaming the school grounds together, Sirius and James able to keep me in check. We explored the ground so much we were able to write the Marauder's Map, with our nicknames," Lupin continued.

"That was really dangerous!" Hermione gasped, "What if you'd slipped past the others, and bitten someone?"

"I still am haunted by that possibility. And there were many near misses, which we would laugh about, because we were young and careless. I sometimes feel guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust – after all, no other Headmaster would have admitted me to Hogwarts, and I was breaking the rules he had put in place to make me safe. But I forgot my guilt when we went out and had another grand adventure, every month. But this year, I've been battling with myself… wondering if I should tell Dumbledore about Sirius… but I didn't, because I was a coward. It would be admitting what we'd done all those years ago, admitting I had betrayed him and he had given me a job on top of everything else – so I convinced myself Sirius was using the Dark Arts, rather than his dog form… so Snape's been, in a way, right about me from the beginning," Lupin sighed.

"Snape?" Black snapped, "What's Snape got to do with it?"

"He's a Professor here," I stated calmly.

"Bet your mum loves that," Black laughed, a barkish laugh.

I frowned at him, "She and Professor Snape are friends…"

"_Really_?" Black's eyebrows raised, "_That's_ a new development."

"What are you talking about?" I asked angrily.

"Professor Snape and your mother were at odds when Sirius went to Azkaban," Lupin explained calmly, "Their renewed friendship happened afterwards."

"Why did they stop being friends?" I asked curiously.

"That is a very complicated story that I'm not entirely sure is my right to tell," Lupin stated, "Your mum would get very upset with me."

"I could tell her, she hates me anyway," Black laughed.

"Of course she does, you're responsible for her cousin's death!" Harry snapped.

"Beyond that – she hated me during school as well. She was two years ahead off all of us. She hated me and your father, Harry, during school – thought we were stuck up, arrogant. She liked Remus, though, and of course her and Lily were attached at the hip. And, Lily was friends with Snape, since they grew up together, so she became friends with Snape."

Harry's eyes widened into saucers.

"However, since your mum was in Slytherin, we didn't do much to help her improve her opinion of us. But James redeemed himself by default when he started dating Lily," Sirius finished, "I never had that opportunity. But never mind all that – what does Snape have to do with this?"

"He fought very hard against my appointment as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He's been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not trustworthy – he had a prank played on him by Sirius and James which nearly killed him, a prank involving me, so he thought I was involved," Lupin continued.

"Served him right," Sirius sneered, "Sneaking around, trying to figure out what we were doing, trying to get us expelled…"

"Snape didn't like any of us very much – he _hated_ James, despised Sirius, bullied Peter, and disliked me to boot. Snape saw me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey and Sirius tried to lure him into following me to the Shack, to meet me as a werewolf – James pulled him back, though, saved his life, but Snape saw me and was forbidden to tell anyone what I was," Lupin explained.

"So Snape doesn't like you, because he thought you were in on the prank?" Harry asked slowly.

"Precisely," Lupin nodded.

"What does this have to do with Black, Pettigrew, and Harry's parents?" I asked calmly, "I admit that the fact that that rat is Pettigrew pokes a hole in my conception of Black – but I need to know how this means he's _innocent_."

Lupin sighed, "You're right, of course. I still don't understand the whole story, though I have a guess."

"Enlighten us," Neville grunted through his pain.

"We should give you lot some proof to continue," Lupin sighed, "I shall change Pettigrew back…"

"Wait a second – how'd you know that Scabbers was Pettigrew without seeing him up close?" Hermione asked.

"That's a good question, Hermione – how _did_ you know, Sirius?" Lupin asked.

Black pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his robes – it was a photo from the daily prophet, of the entire Weasley Clan, and there was Scabbers on Ron's shoulder.

"How'd you get this?" Lupin asked in shock.

"Fudge," Black explained, "He came to inspect Azkaban last year and gave me his paper. And there was Peter on the front page – knew him at once of course, just as you did. The Caption said he was going back to Hogwarts – to where Harry was…"

"And his front paw…" Lupin gasped in amazement.

"Wait…" Harry's eyes widened.

"Exactly, Harry. He's got a toe missing," Lupin smiled.

"So explain, and then give proof," Harry demanded, "I'm not saying I believe you…"

"I cornered him in the street. He yelled so all could hear about how I'd betrayed Lily and James. He then blew apart the street before I could curse him, killing everyone within twenty feet. He cut his own finger off and sped down into the sewer with the other rats – so no one would find his whole body," Sirius explained.

"But Ron's family has had him for ages…" Harry frowned.

"Twelve years, I can only assume," Lupin clarified, "Too long for a common garden rat, I suppose. And he's not looking good at the moment – been losing weight ever since Sirius was on the loose again."

We all looked at each other in amazement, remember Ron getting the rat tonic the moment we got to Diagon Alley.

"Well, that cat's been trying to grab him all year…" Harry tried to justify, but you could tell from the sound of his voice that he knew his explanation had holes.

"That cat is brilliant. Knew Peter for who he was right away. It took me a while to gain his trust, but he's been trying to bring me Pettigrew all year when we finally started communicating – even went and stole the passwords to Gryffindor Tower for me, from a boy's bedside table…" Sirius explained.

"_SERIOUSLY?!_" Neville roared through his pain.

"It wasn't _yours_…" Sirius frowned.

"COURSE IT WAS!" Neville shouted, "I have a terrible memory. Everyone hated me for that! They thought I'd lost it! I thought so too! I had so many detentions and I can't go to Hogsmeade and _you've got to be bloody kidding me!_"

"Neville, calm down, you're not well," I whispered.

"Maggie, I will not calm down, that cat is the reason behind all that insanity I had to go through!" Neville snarled.

"I am truly sorry," Sirius responded.

"I'm so confused," Hermione was holding her head in her hands, "Why would you be _sorry?_"

"Peter got wind of all this, and ran for it," Black continued as if she hadn't spoken, "The cat told me the rat faked his own death once again."

"Why'd he fake his own death?" Harry demanded angrily, "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"

"Harry, that's not what happened," Lupin begged.

"And now you've come to finish him off!"

"Yes," Black answered simply.

"Harry, don't you see?" Lupin begged, "All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down… but it –"

_"To be honest, based on what I knew of him… I didn't actually think he was a dark wizard. I never suspected it. And, being from Slytherin, I'm usually good at recognizing these things," _my mum had said last summer.

"Was the other way around," I whirled around, gaping at Sirius as I finally put together the final pieces in my head, like in the Chamber last year.

Lupin was nodding eagerly, "Yes, Maggie – _Peter_ betrayed Harry's parents, Sirius tracked _Peter_ down…"

"SIRIUS WAS THEIR SECRET KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP! HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"

"He said he was the reason behind their death…" I whispered.

"Exactly. I as good as killed them," Black croaked, "I persuaded Lily and James to change to peter at the alst moment, to use him as the Secret-Keeper instead of me… The night they died, I went to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but he was gone… there was no sign of a struggle. I went to your parent's house straightaway, and when I saw the house, and their bodies… I realized what Peter had done… what I had done…"

His voice broke. I felt pity enter my heart, which was so strange in the case of him.

"I'm going to settle this once and for all and reveal Pettigrew," Lupin declared, "It won't hurt the rat if it really isn't him." He pointed his wand at the rat and a flash of blue-white light erupted from it, suspending Scabbers in midair. He fell and hit the floor, and then suddenly Scabbers was growing, growing into a person – a short man, barely taller than me, Hermione, and Harry. He had thin colorless hair with a bald patch on top, he had lost a lot of weight, and his skin was grubby.

"Well, hello, Peter," Lupin greeted pleasantly, "Long time, no see."

"S-Sirius… R-Remus… My friends… my old friends…" his eyes darted to the door as his squeaky voice greeted them nervously.

Sirius made a move as though to strike him, but Lupin stopped him, turning back to Pettigrew.

"We've been having a nice little chat, Peter, about the night Lily and James died…. You might have missed the finer points while you were trying to rip from my hands…"

"Remus… You don't believe him, do you? He tried to kill me, Remus…" Pettigrew begged.

"Why," I stated calmly, "Would an innocent man hide out for twelve years from a man who was imprisoned in Azkaban?"

Harry's eyes widened and Hermione finally came to the same epiphany that I had – they were telling the truth.

"I was afraid – I knew he could break out at any moment –" Pettigrew protested.

"Right," I paused, "Because it had been done before."

"If you could please clear up some of the finer points for us here, Pettigrew," Lupin stated coldly, "That would be very kind."

"He's going to kill me!" Pettigrew squeaked, "He killed Lily and James and he's going to kill me too…"

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," Lupin sighed.

"Sorted things out?!" Pettigrew squealed, "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

"I'm sorry, but I repeat. No one's ever done it before. Why would you be scared of him breaking out?" I accused.

"He's got Dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly, "How else did he get out of there! I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"

Black started laughing, a cruel laugh that filled the whole room as he responded, "Voldemort, teach me tricks?'

Pettigrew flinched.

"What, scared to hear your old master's name? I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?" Black laughed.

"Don't know what you mean, Sirius…" Pettigrew muttered, now sweating horrifically and hyperventilating.

"You haven't been hiding from _me_ for twelve years, you've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter… They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them… I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information… and Voldemort met his downfall there. And all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways… If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter –"

"I don't… know what… you're talking about," Peter stammered, "You don't believe this insanity, do you, Remus?"

"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," Lupin responded calmly.

"Innocent, but scared! If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban – the spy, Sirius Black!" Pettigrew insisted.

Black's face contorted into an angry glare, "How _dare_ you – I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were more powerful than myself? But you, Peter – I don't know why I didn't guess you were the spy from the start. You always liked having big, powerful friends to look after you? First me, Remus, and James… and then, Voldemort."

Pettigrew wiped his face clean of sweat, "I don't know where you got this idea – me, a spy –"

"Lily and James made you their secret keeper because I suggested it," Black hissed angrily, "I thought it was the perfect plan… a bluff… Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like _you_… It must have been the crowning moment of your pathetic life, delivering the Potters to Voldemort."

Pettigrew was still mumbling protests, but his face had gone ashen and he kept looking at the various escape routes in the room.

"Professor Lupin? Can – can I say something?" Hermione asked timidly.

"Certainly, Hermione," Lupin allowed courteously.

"Well… this man… he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years… If he's working for You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry?"

"There! Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair on Harry's head!" Pettigrew jumped on this bone eagerly.

"Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for twelve years, h's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder, in full view of Albus Dumbledore, for a weakling wizard who had less power than you, were you? You wanted to know Voldemort was the biggest man on campus before you went back to him. Why else would you go to a wizard family rather than just live in the sewers? You kept an ear open for news, just in case Voldemort regained strength, so you could scurry back to his protection…"

"Er… Mr. Black… Sirius?" Hermione asked again.

Black jumped at being addressed like this, as though he had forgotten what it was like to be addressed politely.

"If you don't mind me asking, how… how'd you get out of Azkaban if you didn't use Dark Magic?'

"_Thank_ you!" Pettigrew gasped "Ju-"

"Oh shut it," I snapped at him.

Black was frowning, trying to come up with some sort of answer.

"I don't know how I did it," Black answered carefully, "I think the only reason I never went mental is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy though, so the dementors couldn't take it from me… but it allowed me to know who I was… so I kept my magic. When I couldn't… take the dementors anymore… I transformed into a dog in my cell. Dementors can't see, they feel their way toward people by sensing their emotions… they could tell my feelings were less, less human, less complex when I was a dog… but they thought I was losing my mind like everyone else in there.. but I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away without a wand. But then I saw Peter in the picture… I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry… meaning that Harry was in terrible danger, if he heard the Dark Side was gathering strength again… ready to deliver the last Potter to Voldemort… and he'd be welcomed back with open arms… So you see, I had to do something, I was the only person who knew Pettigrew was alive. It was as if someone had given me fire, and the dementors couldn't take it away, because it wasn't a happy feeling, it was obsession, so it gave me strength, cleared my mind. So one night when they opened my door to bring me food, I snuck past them as a dog – they couldn't sense my emotions that way… I was thin enough to slip through the bars, and I swam back to the mainland as a dog… I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog, living in the forest, except coming up to watch Quidditch. You fly as well as your father did, Harry…"

Harry met Black's gaze and I was now absolutely convinced, which shocked me.

"Please, Harry, believe me. I never betrayed James and Lily… I would have died rather than betray them… I wanted to die _for_ them, make Voldemort come after _me_…"

Harry's eyes flitted to mine for a second, before slowly, calmly, nodded.

"You're too much like… you sound like Maggie when she talks about me, when you talk about my dad," Harry responded calmly, "And she'd never, ever… betray me."

"No!" Pettigrew fell to his knees, as though the nod had been his death sentence.

"It's me… Sirius, it's your friend… peter… you wouldn't…" Pettigrew crawled to the foot of Black's robes, begging. Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled.

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," Black sneered.

"Remus… you don't believe this… Wouldn't Sirius have told you they changed the plan?" Pettigrew begged.

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," Lupin answered, "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?"

"Forgive me, Remus," Black responded.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," Lupin answered, "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

"Of course," Sirius grinned as they both rolled up their sleeves, "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I believe so," Lupin nodded grimly.

"You wouldn't…" Pettigrew gasped, "You won't…" he scurried over to Neville, "You wouldn't let them kill me – you wanted to bring me back to Ron, you – you wouldn't want to hurt anyone…"

Neville looked at him with intense disgust, "I can't believe I was one bed over from you the whole year. I can't believe I trained Trevor to _not eat_ _you_."

Pettigrew turned to me, "Fire girl, angry girl, how could you believe them, when you've been so angry at Sirius all year?"

I flinched away from him and snarled, "Because I know a rat when I see one, and a loyal friend when I hear one, you monster."

Pettigrew turned to Hermione and threw himself at the foot of her robes.

"Sweet girl, clever girl, you… you won't let them… Help me…"

Hermione backed away from Pettigrew, looking horrified.

"Get away from her," Harry snarled, stepping in between Pettigrew and Hermione, "Don't _touch her_. Don't you _dare touch her!_"

"Harry… Harry… you look just like your father… just like him…"

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY? HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?" Sirius roared.

"Harry," Pettigrew whispered, "James wouldn't have wanted me killed… he would have shown mercy, Harry…"

Black and Lily seized Pettigrew's shoulders and threw him away from Harry.

"You sold James and Lily to Voldemort, do you deny it?" Black asked, shaking from head to foot with suppressed rage.

Pettigrew burst into tears, looking so pathetic it made me sick.

"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord… you have no idea… he has weapons you can't imagine… I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James, I never meant to do it… he forced me…"

"DON'T LIE!" Black roared, "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"

"He… he was taking over everywhere!" Pettigrew gasped, "W-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"

"WHAT WAS THERE TO BE GAINED?!" I roared, "INTEGRITY, FRIENDSHIP, THE LIVES OF YOUR FRIENDS!" I stepped forward up to Black and Lupin, filled with an intense fury.

"You don't understand! He would have killed me! How could a child like you –" Pettigrew insisted.

"SHE UNDERSTANDS THINGS A LOT BETTER THAN YOU EVER DID, PETER! YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED! DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" Black roared at the same decibel I had roared.

"What you should have realized, Peter, is that if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter," Lupin stated calmly.

Neville gritted his teeth, Hermione covered her face and turned to the wall, and I raised my wand in anger.

"NO!" Harry yelled. He ran forward and placed himself in front of Pettigrew, "You can't kill him, you can't."

"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents – he would have had you die too, without even a second though. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family," Sirius sneered.

"I know," Harry responded, "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the dementors… He can go to Azkaban, but don't kill him."

"Harry!" Pettigrew gasped, "You – thank you – it's more than I deserve –"

"Get off me," Harry spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust, "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because I don't reckon my dad would've wanted his best friends to become killers just for you. And, to be honest, I see the look in my cousin's eye. If nothing else, I want to stop _her_ from becoming a killer."

There was a very long pause as Black and Lupin studied each other, before finally lowering their wands. At Harry's words I had pocketed mine in shame.

"You're the one who gets to decide, Harry, but think… think of what he did…" Black whispered.

"He can go to Azkaban. If anyone deserves that place, it's him," Harry repeated.

"Very well. Stand aside, Harry," Lupin ordered, "I'm going to tie him up."

Harry moved out of the way and thin cords shot from Lupin's wand, binding and gagging Pettigrew.

"But if you transform, Peter, we _will_ kill you, yes, Harry?" Black asked.

Harry nodded so Pettigrew could see him.

"Right," Lupin stepped forward to Neville, "Neville, I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, so I think it's best if we just strap your leg up until we get you to the Hospital Wing." He muttered something and bandages spun up Neville's leg, strapping it tightly to a splint. Lupin helped him to his feet and he didn't wince.

"Thank you," Neville murmured.

"Two of us should be chained to Pettigrew, just to make sure," Black stated.

"I'll do it," Lupin offered.

"And me," I agreed calmly.

Black conjured heavy manacles from thin air, forcing Peter upright and chaining him to Lupin and to me. I wouldn't let this traitor out of my sight, not for anything. Hermione helped Neville upright, and we all left the Shack together.

AN: No time for a long AN, I am hanging out with my sister and brother for my brother's birthday. Sorry for the much quoting chapter, I just couldn't see a way around it. Shout Outs! Thank you to to MrsPotterDrEw and KitsuneShadowKnight for favoriting/following this. Then, thank you Viola Potterhead Girl, DreamCatcher1991, CookyCrumbla, MrsPotterDrEw, rangerhero, Edmond O'Donald, and old-crow for reviewing!

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	25. Ch 24: June 9, 1994, Hogwarts

Chapter Twenty-Four: June 9, 1994, Hogwarts

We all walked down to the grounds together, a rather eclectic group. Neville was being held up by Hermione as Sirius and Harry lead the group. Every time Pettigrew got close to me I flinched away in disgust.

"You just keep yourself as far away from me as possible," I hissed at him, "I don't want your filth."

Lupin kept pointing his wand at Pettigrew, which was why he kept trying to get closer to me. Ahead of us, Sirius and Harry had begun to talk to one another.

"You know what this means?" Sirius murmured, "Turning Pettigrew in?"

"You're free," Harry responded.

"Yes… But I'm also – I don't know if anyone told you, but… I'm your godfather."

"Yeah, I knew that," Harry affirmed.

"Well, your parents appointed me your guardian, if anything happened to them… but I understand if you want to stay with your cousins," Sirius interjected quickly.

"It would just be weird, to not live with Maggie," Harry affirmed.

"Of course, of course. She seems to really care about you," Sirius responded.

"But I do want to get to know you better – Aunt Melinda… never talks about my parents," Harry explained.

"She isn't good with the past, if I remember correctly. She can face a dark future and deal with a dangerous present, but she wants to forget and block out the past as much as possible. But I would love to visit… as much as she allows for me," Sirius added.

"That would be great. Really," Harry agreed, "Maybe I'll even stay for a few days, for bonding time or something similar."

"I would love that," Sirius nodded.

_Oh thank God. He's not leaving_, I thought in selfish relief. My life would just be weird if he didn't live in the same house as me.

"One wrong move, Pettigrew," Lupin warned as we reached the fields. The clouds overhead were extraordinarily thick as we continued on, approaching Hagrid's Hut. But, slowly, a cloud shifted, causing dim shadows on the ground – it was a full moon.

Lupin next to me went rigid. His limbs were shaking violently. I felt my eyes widen in terror.

"Guys... Um… Professor Lupin is…"

"He hasn't taken his potion!" Hermione gasped.

"Run," Sirius whispered, "Run, now."

Harry leapt forward to help as Hermione and Neville started to move away from us, but immediately stopped when they realized Harry wasn't following.

Sirius threw Harry back and roared, "LEAVE IT TO ME – _RUN!_"

Lupin's head was lengthening, his body was following suit. His shoulders were hunching and hair was sprouting on his face and hands.

_Well, this is fantastic. I'm about to become a werewolf. Now I'll have TWO monthly problems to worry about_, I thought grimly.

Sirius dropped down and became the giant dog. As Were-Lupin broke free of his manacles, Sirius seized him around the neck and pulled him backward from me and Pettigrew. I pulled out my wand and held it against Pettigrew.

"_Don't you dare move!_" I roared, frozen with terror myself at the two battling canines nearby. At one point, Sirius had lost Lupin and he sprinted towards me, making me _really_ frozen with terror. As Sirius knocked Lupin away from me, Pettigrew dived for Lupin's lost wand, and whirled it on me. Before I could react, I was thrown backwards with a flash of light and fell to the ground. Everything was whirling around and I didn't recognize anything I saw – everything was a strange color and blurred in front of my vision. I could hear, though – I heard the screams, the roaring and barking and howling of the canines, and frantic footsteps.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted.

"No!" Neville roared.

"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Harry continued a while later as a bright colorful blur passed over my eyes that I definitely knew wasn't actually swimming in front of my vision.

"What did he do to her?" Hermione gasped.

"Is she okay? Is she alive? Is she –" Neville panicked.

"Neville _calm down_ –" Harry insisted.

"I NEVER BLOODY TOLD HER, HERMIONE, AND SHE'S GOING TO DIE –"

"She's _not going to die_, she's alive, calm down Neville, _please_," Hermione begged.

_Told me what?_ I thought amongst a spinning rainbow and various wild animals swimming in my field of vision.

"We're going to get her up to the castle and find someone to help," Harry stated in a surprisingly calm voice, "Come –"

A whining filled the air, though I was still unable to process my visual sensory perception.

"Sirius," Harry murmured. There was a pause, and then two sets of footsteps went sprinting away.

"Yeah, I'll just stay with Maggie then… seems good," Neville's voice called after who I could only suppose was Hermione and Harry.

"You'll be okay, Maggie. I promise. I won't let anything hurt you," Neville murmured softly. Funnily enough, I couldn't move my lips to respond. In fact, his voice was getting more and more muffled with these words, until I couldn't make out anything he said afterwards and the colors stopped whirling in front of my vision and I just saw black.

The next thing I knew I was staring up at the face of Professor Snape.

"Professor – there was – and then – and he's – I –" I felt my eyes widen.

"I saw you all coming out from the Whomping Willow. I came down at once. I knew Lupin hadn't taken his potion," Professor Snape sneered.

"What happened – is everyone okay?" I asked hoarsely, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"Everyone's fine," Neville sighed, "Though not without trouble."

"I had to stop the dementors from kissing your pathetic cousin and your friend," Snape sneered, "_And_ the criminal Black. Lupin's out there somewhere trying to bite every human he finds in the forest."

I opened my mouth to protest but Neville was shaking his head, "Don't bother. I already tried to explain Sirius' innocence, he won't hear of it."

"But Sirius Black _is_ innocent; it was Peter Pettigrew, he's still alive but he got away – he's a rat animagus, he…" I rambled.

"I think the spell Black casted on you has mangled your brains," Snape sneered.

"Seriously, he's innocent!" I insisted.

"I've been trying the whole time he's been waking you up, Maggie just stop," Neville sighed.

"Mr. Longbottom is delirious from the pain in his leg," Snape stated dismissively.

"_Professor, he's innocent, I know he is, you've got to believe me!_" I begged.

"That's enough. You're facing severe enough punishment for being out on the grounds at this time of night," Professor Snape angrily hissed.

I hung my head and allowed him to help me up. Hermione, Harry, and Sirius were all on makeshift stretchers.

"If your mother knew I let you into this kind of danger…" Professor Snape groaned.

"It's not your fault we all snuck out… why would mum be angry?" I asked as I helped Neville stumble up to the castle.

"Because all the things you've done since coming to Hogwarts she blames me for, for not watching you and stopping your shenanigans," Snape sighed, "This will be fantastic."

I remained silent as we limped up to Dumbledore's office, Snape knocking on the door. Inside was the Minister of Magic as well as Professor Dumbledore.

"Professor Snape, what…" Professor Dumbledore began before all four eyes widened in amazement.

_"Black?!_" the Minister gasped.

"What's happened?" Professor Dumbledore demanded.

"To begin with, Sirius Black is innocent," I insisted.

"Oh no – did the girl hurt her head?" The Minister asked.

"I would like to hear everyone's story on the way to the Hospital Wing. Neville's leg looks painful," Professor Dumbledore ordered.

Professor Snape began describing his tale – of how a giant number of dementors had crowded around Harry, Hermione, and Sirius; how they were back at their posts by the time he reached them, how he knew the curse Pettigrew had used on me (though he was convinced it was Sirius who had hurt me,) and brought me to consciousness, and he brought us all up here.

I turned to Professor Dumbledore and, with Neville's help, told our version of the story. At the end of it, the Minister was still unconvinced.

"I'm sorry, Miss Johnson, but as convinced as you are by your story, the amount of evidence against Black is insurmountable, and I…"

"Don't believe me because I'm the daughter of a muggle-born and spend most of my time fighting against established prejudice?" I responded cattily.

Everyone stopped in their tracks outside the door to the Hospital Wing. The Minister looked shocked. Professor Dumbledore's beard twitched, Professor Snape scolwed at me, and Neville covered his face with his hands.

"Miss Johnson, I am _astounded_ at your accusations – the curse Black placed on you must have muddled your senses," the Minister stated in a strained, though calm, voice.

I remained silent at the slight look Professor Dumbledore gave me out of the corner of his eye. We got into the Hospital Wing and Madam Pomfrey immediately set about helping Neville with his leg, lamenting that he would have to stay in the wing overnight. She gave me a potion to help regain my senses (I still saw some rainbows in the corners of my eyes) and gave the three fainted people potions as well. She then gave a potion to Black to wake him up – though it wasn't ideal and could hurt him, I suppose no one cared about his health. Not when he was about to receive the Dementor's Kiss.

I was left to sit in the bed in the Wing, Neville next to me.

"I'm exhausted," Neville groaned, "I want to sleep."

"Then go to sleep," I sighed.

"I can't… They're going to kill Sirius… essentially," Neville buried his face in his hands.

"I know," I whispered, "This is so bad, I can't even…"

"First Buckbeak, now Sirius. I am officially disillusioned with the government," Neville laid back in his bed, staring at the ceiling.

"It's just horrifying," I agreed, "I will _never_ work for them."

"Me neither… but gran doesn't know any other respectable career…" Neville sighed.

I looked at him, sitting up rapidly and making my head spin, "What about teaching?"

"Huh?"

"You're a genius at Herbology, Neville. You could take over for Sprout when she retires," I suggested.

"Really? You think so?" Neville asked in amazement.

"I know so," I managed to smile, before sighing, "I'm sorry, Nev, I can't stop thinking about it, how awful it is."

Voices could be heard outside the Hospital Wing. They were talking indistinctly, though part of that might be the remaining effects of the curse. But I did hear when they were closest to the door – Professor Snape and the Minister.

"Mr. Potter obviously thought he was going to catch Black single-handed, but I wouldn't blame the girl, Minister. She's easily brainwashed by the boy because she cares about him… she is one of the few students I've been sincerely impressed by at this school, especially from her house. I really wouldn't take her angry outbursts seriously," Snape stated calmly.

Neville looked at me with raised eyebrows and I sighed. I knew Snape was trying to save my butt, but at the same time I didn't want the Minister thinking I was so easily brainwashed. Then he'd try and change me.

"Well, Snape, we _all_ have a soft spot where Potter's concerned."

"Is it good for him to get so much special treatment, though? I try to treat Potter like any other student… and any other student would be suspended for this behavior. His friends, maybe not, for I believe they were bullied into it by him… but him, certainly, for breaking all the precautions and rules put in place for _his_ safety…"

_Even when Snape's trying to save your neck he insults Harry. Dear God_, I thought in annoyance.

"Well, we shall see Snape, the boy has undoubtedly been foolish, that I cannot argue with…" the Minister paused, "You really have no idea what made the dementors retreat?"

The voices trailed away into the distance and I scowled. I was trying my hardest not to think about what was about to happen with Sirius Black. Neville looked at me with similar despair etched into his features.

I looked over to Harry and Hermione and saw with a shock that their eyes were opened. I looked at them in amazement as Madam Pomfrey came over.

"Ah, you're awake!" she declared, placing large bars of chocolate by their bedsides and breaking it apart with a hammer.

"How are Maggie and Neville?" Harry asked, looking up and seeing us, "Oh."

"They'll be fine. Miss Johnson will have dulled senses for a little while and Mr. Longbottom will need to stay overnight to heal, as you two will," Madam Pomfrey explained, "I might as well keep Miss Johnson around for surveillance."

"I need to see the headmaster," Harry stated calmly, sitting up.

"Potter, it's alright. They've caught Black, the dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now…" Madam Pomfrey explained.

"WHAT? MAGGIE, NEVILLE, DIDN'T YOU TELL THEM?!" Harry roared, standing on his feet now.

"They won't believe us, Harry!" I sobbed.

"They dismiss our story, think we've been tricked by Sirius," Neville sighed.

Hermione had jumped out of bed too just as Minister Fudge came in.

"Harry, I am Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. Your Aunt must have talked about me… what _are_ you doing out of bed?" Fudge demanded of Harry, thinking they had never met before.

"Minister, please, listen to us! Sirius Black is innocent, I swear, Peter Pettigrew faked his own death because he sold out my parents – they switched, Black and Pettigrew switched – we saw him tonight, you can't let the dementors kiss Sirius, you just _can't_ –" Harry rambled.

Fudge was shaking his head with a small smile, "Oh, Harry, you're very confused, just like your cousin and your friend, you've been through an ordeal, it's perfectly understandable, but don't worry, we've got it all under control…"

"NO YOU HAVEN'T!" Harry roared, "YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!"

"Minister, please, please listen," Hermione begged, "I saw him too, it was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and…"

"You see, Minister? Black confounded all four of them, did a very good job…" Snape insisted.

"WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!" Harry yelled.

"Sirius didn't jinx us!" I insisted, "This is the truth!"

"Black is innocent, if you would only see!" Neville shouted.

"Please, Minister, I wouldn't go against the facts, this is real!" Hermione begged.

"Minister! Professor! I must insist you leave. These students are my patients are you're distressing them," Madam Pomfrey protested.

"I'm not distressed, I'm trying to get them to see reason!" Harry snarled.

Madam Pomfrey stuffed a large chunk of chocolate into Harry's mouth and he was pushed back onto the bed.

"Now, _please_, Minister, the children need to be cared for. Please leave…"

Professor Dumbledore entered again, and Harry jumped to his feet again.

"Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black –"

"For heaven's sake!" Madam Pomfrey screeched, "Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster –"

"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, Miss Johnson, and Mr. Longbottom. I have just been talking to Sirius Black and…"

"I suppose he's told you the same poppycock he fed to these children?" Snape asked, "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew alive…"

"That is Black's story," Dumbledore responded calmly.

"And does my evidence count for nothing? Pettigrew wasn't anywhere on the grounds," Snape insisted.

"He transformed into a rat and ran away, Professor!" Hermione begged.

"Miss Granger, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!" Snape roared.

I stepped up to Professor Snape and glared at him angrily, "_Do_ _not talk to Hermione that way._"

Hermione let out a squeak of surprise.

"Now, Snape," Fudge interjected, "These children are disturbed, startled, distressed, we must make allowances for their behavior…"

Snape glared down at me, "And what will you do about it, Miss Johnson?"

"Tell. My. Mother," I snapped.

Snape's eyes widened as Professor Dumbledore stated, "I would like to speak to Harry, Hermione, Maggie, and Neville alone. Cornelius, Severus, Poppy – please leave us."

"Headmaster, they need _rest_…" Madam Pomfrey insisted.

"This cannot wait. I must insist, Poppy," Dumbledore responded.

Madam Pomfrey retreated into her office, slamming the door behind him. Fudge left, muttering something about meeting the dementors. Snape left without a word, slamming the other door behind him. The moment they were all gone we all began badgering Dumbledore.

"Professor, Black's telling the truth, we _saw_ Pettigrew…"

"Lupin turned into a werewolf and he escaped –"

"He's a rat, he's an animagus –"

"Pettigrew's front finger was cut off and so was Ron's rat's –"

"Pettigrew attacked me, it wasn't Sirius, I think I'd know –"

Dumbledore raised a hand for us to stop.

"You need to listen, and I beg you do not interrupt me, not even you Miss Johnson, there is very little time," Dumbledore began, "There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story except your word, and the word of two fourteen year old witches and two thirteen year old wizards isn't going to convince anyone, no matter how many mysteries they've solved together. A street full of people are convinced they saw Sirius murder Pettigrew. I myself gave evidence that Sirius was the Potter's Secret-Keeper…"

"Professor Lupin can…" Harry protested feebly.

"Professor Lupin is currently deep in the forest unable to communicate with anyone at all. By the time he is human again, Sirius will be worse than dead. And werewolves are mistrusted by most of our kind so that his support will count for very little, especially since he was friends with Black," Dumbledore continued.

"But –"

"_Listen to me. _It is too late, you understand? You must see that Professor Snape's version of events is far more convincing than yours," Dumbledore explained.

"But he _hates_ Sirius…" Hermione begged.

"Sirius hasn't acted like an innocent man. The attack on the Fat Lady, entering Gryffindor with a knife… without Pettigrew, we have no chance of overturning Sirius' sentence," Dumbledore continued.

"But do you believe us?" I demanded.

"Yes, I do," Dumbledore murmured, "But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic."

We all looked at him and I felt like we had lost all hope. I had believed Dumbledore could produce a magic solution. But there was nothing.

"What we need," Dumbledore explained calmly, looking at Hermione now, "Is more _time_."

"But…" Hermione began, and then her eyes became very wide, "OH!"

"Now, pay attention," Dumbledore continued, speaking low, quickly, and clearly, "Sirius is locked in professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. Your mother, Maggie, has been summoned to the castle and is currently waiting for me in my office. Her house will be made safe, a secret. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember – _you must not be seen._ Miss Granger, you know the law. You know what is at stake. _You. Must. Not. Be. Seen._"

Harry and I looked at each other in confusion.

"I am going to lock you in," Dumbledore explained as he went up to the door, "It is five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

Hermione turned to Neville, "I'm so sorry Neville, but you can't walk. It's got to be the three of us," she then turned to me and Harry and was pulling out a very long, very fine gold chain from beneath her robes.

"I'm so confused," I groaned as Hermione pulled me and Harry closer to her and threw the chain around our necks.

"What -?" Harry asked.

She pulled out a tiny, sparkling hourglass hanging from the chain and turned it three times. Then, suddenly, it felt like we were flying backward very fast. The world was zooming through my vision in a blur of colors and shapes, my ears were popping in annoyance, and I couldn't seem to find my voice. And then I felt like I was standing solidly again, and the world came into focus. I was standing next to Harry and Hermione in the same triangle as before, present in the entrance hall in front of the open front doors. I looked at Hermione with my mouth open.

"Hermione, what…" Harry's eyes were wide as he looked down at our friend.

"In here!" Hermione demanded, pulling me and Harry into a broom closet, slamming the door behind us. I felt very pressed up against the two of them, which was just awkward for me.

"What… happened?" I asked slowly.

"We've gone back in time," Hermione whispered, "Three hours back."

"What…" I looked at her like she was crazy.

"Shh! Listen!" Hermione hissed, "Someone's coming – it's probably us!"

She pressed her ear up against the cupboard door and listened, "Footsteps… yes, it's us going down to Hagrid's!"

"Are you saying, that we're here in this cupboard, and out there too?" Harry asked slowly.

"Yes," Hermione answered, "I'm sure it's us, it doesn't sound like more than four people… and we're walking slowly because we're under the Cloak… We've gone down the front steps…"

Hermione sat down on a bucket as we stared down at her.

"I'm sorry, but where'd you get the hourglass?" I asked calmly.

"It's a Time-Turner," Hermione hissed, "I got it from Professor McGonagall our first day back. I've been using it to get to all my lessons this year. Professor McGonagall made me swear I wouldn't tell anyone, she had to write all sorts of letters to the Ministry so I could have one. She had to tell them I was a model student, and that I'd never, ever use it for anything except my studies… I've been turning it back so I could do hours over again, that's how I've been doing several lessons at once, see? But... guys, I don't know what Dumbledore wants us to do. Why did he make us go back three hours? How's that going to help Sirius?"

"There must be something that happened now that he wants us to change…" Harry paused, "We were walking down to Hagrid's three hours ago…"

"This _is_ three hours again and we are currently walking down to Hagrid's," Hermione responded firmly.

"We've got to save more than one innocent life – Hermione, we've got to save Buckbeak!" I hissed.

"How… will that help Sirius, Maggie?"

"He just told us where the window is – we've got to get up there to Sirius! We've got to fly up there on Buckbeak! And then… he can use Buckbeak to go back to my mum's house to hide out, that's where they can escape, we live in the middle of nowhere, Dumbledore wants them to hide out there!" I realized, "That's why he called my mum up the school, I've been in bigger scrapes than having a weird trippy curse put on me, he wants to explain to mum that Sirius is innocent and have her help him hide out!"

"But the ministry could come and find him there…" Harry frowned.

"Our house will be made safe – Harry, he's going to put our house under the Fidelius Charm, he's going to protect Sirius with secret keeping, I'm sure of it," I gasped.

"Alright, but this time, _Dumbledore's_ the secret keeper," Harry groaned.

"If we manage this without being seen, it will be a miracle," Hermione sighed.

"We've got to try, haven't we?" Harry declared, listening at the door, "Doesn't sound like anyone's there, come on."

We left the closet and walked out into the entrance hall, sneaking through the front doors as quietly as we could. The sun was setting, the shadows were lengthening, and I grimaced in terror.

"If anyone's looking out of the castle… Lupin!" Hermione realized, her eyes growing wide.

"He wasn't here now – he didn't see us going to Hagrid's, he just saw us getting dragged under the Whomping Willow. We're fine for now," I hissed.

"And if someone else sees us, we run for it, straight into the forest," Harry declared.

"Let's just run for it anyway, to the forest behind Hagrid's," I suggested.

"We'll have to go round behind the greenhouses, we can't be seen by Hagrid's front door now, we must be nearly there," Hermione explained.

_My head hurts…_

We began sprinting through the grounds to the greenhouses, tearing across the vegetable patches, sprinting around the Whomping Willow and hiding out in the forest behind Hagrid's Hut. We snuck closer and closer, trying to catch our breath, inching towards the hut as quietly as we could. We glimpsed the front of the hut at last, hearing a knock on the door.

"That's us," Hermione explained calmly.

"It's us, under the Cloak," I heard Harry – but it _wasn't_ Harry, Harry was next to me, it was past Harry under the cloak, "Let us in and we can take it off."

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered, opening the door for us to enter.

"Well, this is weird," I whispered to Hermione, now.

"Let's move a little, we've got to get closer to Buckbeak," Hermione ordered.

We crept through until we saw the hippogriff, tethered in Hagrid's pumpkin patch. I still saw rainbows in my side vision but they were diminishing now.

"Now?" Harry whispered.

"No!" Hermione hissed, "if we steal him now, the Committee people will think Hagrid set him free and he'll get into trouble!"

"You mean, we've got to wait until they've seen him? That will give us about a minute to untie him, Hermione!" I groaned.

There was a crash of dishes breaking inside Hagrid's hut.

"Hagrid's broken the milk jug… I'm going to find Scabbers soon…" Hermione whispered.

In a few seconds we could hear Hermione's shriek.

"Hermione, what if we… just run in… grab Pettigrew…" Harry suggested.

"No! Don't you see, Harry?" Hermione begged, holding onto his arm desperately, "We're breaking one of the biggest Wizarding laws! Nobody's suppoed to change time! You heard Dumbledore, if we're seen…"

"We'll only be seen by ourselves and Hagrid," Harry protested.

"Harry, what would you do if you saw yourself bursting into Hagrid's house?" Hermione asked.

"I was going mad, or some evil wizard was using polyjuice potion or something similar," I answered.

"Exactly! You wouldn't understand, and Maggie would _certainly_ attack herself, us too probably. Loads of people kill their future or past selves by mistake when they mess with time! It's _dangerous_."

"Okay, it was just an idea…" Harry sighed.

"I know, Harry, I _know_, but we have to be careful," Hermione murmured sadly, squeezing his wrist.

Suddenly, from the castle, we could see Dumbledore, Fudge, the Committee member, and Macnair coming down to the Hut.

"We're going to come out now…" I stated.

Hagrid's back door opened then and Harry, Hermione, Neville, and myself emerged with Hagrid. It was so freaking bizarre.

"How poofy is my hair?" I whispered.

"Maggie, shush!" Hermione hissed.

"It's okay, Beaky," Hagrid murmured to the hippogriff, "It's okay… Go on, get goin'," he ordered.

"Hagrid, we can't –" Harry had begged.

"We'll tell them about Malfoy and how much of a dirty, lying –" I had hissed.

"This isn't _right_…" Neville had protested.

"They can't kill him-" Hermione had moaned.

"It's so strange to hear what your voice sounds like to other people," Harry murmured softly.

"Are our accents that thick?" I asked Hermione. She rolled her eyes in response.

"Go!" Hagrid was snarling, meanwhile, "It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"

The cloak was thrown over us and we disappeared from view.

"Go quick," Hagrid ordered, "Don' listen…"

There was a knock on Hagrid's front door – the execution party had arrived. Hagrid turned back into his cabin leaving the back door ajar. The four of us left, going up to the Whomping Willow, while us three were stuck in the forest watching the back door.

"Where is the beast?" Macnair asked.

"Out… outside," Hagrid answered in a shaky voice.

Macnair's face appeared at Hagrid's window and stared at Buckbeak, and then went back in.

"We – er – have to read you the official notice of execution, Hagrid. I'll make it quick. And then you and Macnair need to sign it," Fudge explained.

"Wait here," I hissed, "I can do this."

I darted out from behind the trees and moved towards Buckbeak, not blinking, bowing towards the hippogriff. Buckbeak sank to his knees and then stood up. I ran to the knot of the robe tying Buckbeak to the fence, fumbling with it with my fingers, finally untying it and pulling Buckbeak away from the post.

"Come _on!_" I hissed, "Buckbeak, _please_, we've got to _move!_"

Buckbeak had dug himself into the pumpkin patch, unwilling to move, as the people inside Hagrid's hut discussed the document. I heard Fudge suggest that Hagrid not come outside.

"_Move, Buckbeak!_" I begged. Finally Buckbeak began to walk, and Dumbledore suddenly reminded Macnair to sign, so we still had time to scurry into the forest where we finally reached Hermione and Harry. They helped lead Buckbeak through the trees, away from Hagrid's Hut, and I tugged at Buckbeak's rope so he finally broke into a trot. We finally were out of sight, stopping in the woods.

"They might hear us," I hissed, "Don't move!"

Hagrid's back door had opened loudly. We all stood quite still, and I saw to my amusement that in all the stress Hermione had grabbed Harry's hand and was holding it so tightly her knuckles were white. There was a pause, and then suddenly, "Where is it? Where is the beast?" It was an older voice, the Committee member's.

"It was tied here!" Macnair roared, "I saw it! Just here!"

"How extraordinary," Dumbledore commented in amusement.

"Beaky!" Hagrid gasped.

There was a swishing noise and the thud of an axe – the executioner had swung it into the fence in anger. And then Hagrid began to howl, but now we could hear the words.

"Gone! Gone! Bless his little beak, he's _gone!_ Musta pulled himself free! Beaky, you clever boy!"

Buckbeak, at the sound of Hagrid's voice, started to strain against the rope to get back. Harry and Hermione grabbed onto the rope to help me keep him steady, digging our heels into the dirt.

"Someone untied him!" the executioner snarled, "We should search the grounds, the forest –"

"Macnair, if Buckbeak has indeed been stolen, do you really think the thief will have led him away on foot? Search the skies if you will… Hagrid, I could do with a cup of tea, or a large brandy."

"O' course, Professor. Come in, come in!" Hagrid was filled with immense joy.

We all listened closely as footsteps led away from the Pumpkin Patch or into the Hut, and silence finally fell over the area once again.

"Now what?" Harry asked anxiously.

"We'll have to wait here," Hermione sighed, "We need to wait until they've gone back to the castle. Then we wait until it's safe to fly Buckbeak up to Sirius' window. He won't be there for another couple of hours… this will be difficult…"

The sun was now setting and I turned to the pair of them.

"We're going to have to move, we have to see the Whomping Willow, know what's going on," I stated.

"Okay, but we have to keep out of sight, Maggie," Hermione agreed.

We moved along the forest's edge calmly as darkness filled up around us.

"Let's hope no dragons decide to pop in," Harry offered.

"Oh Merlin," I groaned.

"There's Neville," Harry pointed as a dark figure could be seen diving after something, and the voice of Neville rang out shouting, "Scabbers – NO!" Meanwhile, another dark figure could be seen grappling with a large animal – Crookshanks and me.

"Ron – owes – me – big – time!" Neville roared as he sprinted after Pettigrew. I followed him, throwing Crookshanks back at Hermione and Harry who had just appeared from under the cloak.

"Guys, we've got to get back under the cloak!" Harry was hissing, "Forget the bloody rat!"

"And you were going to let Pettigrew get away," I teased to present-Harry, who glared at me in the darkness.

Neville and I had both collapsed onto the ground and suddenly Sirius in dog form was bounding towards us, umping over Harry, grabbing Neville, dragging me and Neville away as I shouted, "NO!"

"This is so weird," I whispered.

"It looks so painful, I feel bad for Neville," Harry agreed.

"He's a real trooper," Hermione affirmed.

The Whomping Willow was attacking Hermione and Harry, and then suddenly the tree froze.

"That was Crookshanks pressing the knot," Hermione explained to me, "The knot that freezes the tree."

"And off we go," Harry sighed, "We're inside.

A moment later, Dumbledore, Macnair, Fudge, and the Committee member were making their way up the castle.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me, if only Dumbledore had come with…" Hermione groaned.

"Yeah, with Macnair, whom Fudge would have ordered to murder Sirius on sight," Harry grumbled.

"I've decided my life's work will be to stage a coup against the Ministry," I hissed.

"I might join you on that," Harry agreed.

"Oh please, the Ministry is so corrupt and so entrenched…" Hermione scowled.

"It's a pipe dream, but I'm clinging to it," I snapped in response, "I can't accept the fact the Ministry will remain corrupt forever. At any rate, I refuse to work for them."

Moments later, Lupin was sprinting down into the passage, looking terrified.

"He really believed Sirius was bad," Harry murmured.

"He looks really worried," Hermione agreed.

Hagrid walked by a little time after that, singing loudly, a large bottle swinging in his hands as he practically danced through the grounds. Buckbeak struggled and we all forced him back from following Hagrid. When he went out of sight, Buckbeak's head drooped in sadness so that my heart broke for the creature.

"We'll have to invite Hagrid back to the house, show him Buckbeak's okay…" I whispered to Harry.

"Maggie, he'll want to take Buckbeak with him, and for now we need to keep him out of sight," Harry responded, "The Ministry will probably check and make sure Hagrid doesn't have the thing until they forget about it."

"I _hate them_," I responded venomously.

There was a slight pause.

"My question is – when Lupin expanded the view of the map, why didn't he see that we were all in two places at once?" Hermione asked.

"We were really focusing on the Shack… and sometimes, we tend to ignore the things we don't want to see," I murmured.

There was a long pause as we sat there, waiting.

"I just have one question, Harry…" Hermione whispered, "Why didn't the dementors get Sirius? I remember them coming… you weren't there for that bit, Maggie… and then I passed out, there were so many…"

Harry frowned, looking out at the night sky, "A dementor was… trying to kiss me. But a large silver thing had come galloping across the lake and forced all the dementors back…"

"But what was it?" Hermione gasped.

"There was only one thing it could have been… a real Patronus, a powerful one," Harry responded.

"But who conjured it?" Hermione asked.

Harry paused quietly. He was staring out into the distance, clearly thinking hard.

"Didn't you see what they looked like?" Hermione demanded eagerly, "Was it one of the teachers?"

"No," Harry responded calmly, "He wasn't a teacher…"

"Did you see the animal? That could help – since the animal's supposed to be like the person…" I asked.

"It was… it was a stag," Harry responded.

_Prongs…_ I felt my eyes widen, but Hermione didn't understand what Harry was implying yet.

"It must have been a powerful wizard, to drive all those dementors away. If the Patronus was shining brightly, couldn't you see him?" Hermione continued.

"Yeah, I saw him…" Harry responded slowly, "But… maybe I imagined it… I wasn't thinking straight… I passed out immediately…"

"_Who do you think it was_?" Hermione insisted.

I looked over at Harry, my face contorted in pity, "Did you think it was your dad, Harry?"

Harry looked back at me and nodded calmly.

"Harry… your dad… your dad's dead," Hermione whispered sadly.

"I know that," Harry responded quickly.

"You think you saw his ghost?"

"I don't know… no… he looked solid…"

"But then…" Hermione murmured.

"Maybe I was seeing things, but from what I could see… it looked like him. I've got photos of him…" Harry sighed.

"A stag patronus, though…" I commented.

"It still sounds crazy, I know," Harry responded calmly, "But it was what I saw…" Harry stared off into the woods, thinking deeply. I had no idea what to think, but after the crazy events that had transpired this evening and were in the process of transpiring, I'd decided to suspend all belief.

I sat in the leaf litter of the forest, crunching the leaves in my hands and letting the pieces fall through my fingers, staring down at the dirt. So many unregistered Animagi – and they had done it without McGonagall's help, together… And I was to follow in their footsteps… shouldn't I tell Sirius about it, talk to him, ask advice? At this point I was almost finished with the potions and I was in the middle of noticing signs of what sort of animal I would become – I could talk loudly, roar really; I found myself much faster on my feet, almost like I was flying; and sometimes it felt like there was a fiery anger, even more fierce than my anger before, coursing through me. Oh, and I was always biting people. What _was_ I?

At last, after over an hour, we were emerging. Sirius and Harry lead the way, followed by Neville and Hermione, and then me, Pettigrew, and Lupin. Harry looked up at the sky and I realized what he was thinking about.

"We can't, Harry, he's going to escape, it sucks, but we can't," I murmured.

"I can't _stand it_," Harry groaned.

"We've got to help Sirius, we can't do anything else," Hermione insisted.

"_Fine!_" Harry snapped, looking at us angrily. Upon seeing our hurt expressions, he muttered, "Sorry."

"Lupin's transforming…" Hermione murmured.

_Shit_.

"Hermione, he's going to run into the forest right at us!" I hissed, "We've got to _move!_"

"Oh no! Where are we going to go? Where are we going to hide, the dementors –"

"Back to Hagrids," Harry stated frimly, "There's no one there now, come on!"

We sprinted together, urging Buckbeak along, listening to the werewolf howling behind us. We reached the cabin and wrenched open the door, bolting the door behind us, Fang barking loudly at us.

"Shh, Fang, it's us," Hermione hissed, "That was close!"

"Yeah…" Harry seemed distracted. Buckbeak laid down for a nap as Harry continued, "I think I'd better go outside again, you know, I can't see what's going on – we won't know when it's time…"

We both looked at him suspiciously.

"I'm not going to try and interfere, but if we don't see what's going on, how're we going to know when it's time to rescue Sirius?"

"Alright then," I answered, "We'll wait here with Buckbeak, but be careful Harry, there's a werewolf and dementors."

Harry stepped outside and left. I turned to Hermione with a sigh.

"You realize this is completely mental, right?" I asked calmly.

"Yeah, I do," Hermione answered in equal calmness.

I paused, staring down at my shoes, before looking back up at her, "Can I ask you something? That's inappropriately timed?"

"Sure."

"Why Harry?"

Hermione's eyes widened, and then she laughed loudly before covering her mouth in response to my question.

"I'm being serious, Hermione…"

"I know, sorry," Hermione laughed, "It's just so random. I feel like this _isn't_ a conversation we should be having in Hagrid's Hut while we wait to rescue a fugitive."

"Fair enough," I paused, "Can you at least give me a short version?"

"Short version? I can't imagine being closer to any boy than I am to Harry, so dating someone other than him just doesn't make sense. Long version? That'll be the specific reasons why I actually like _him_ and I'll tell you when we have less pressing things on our minds," Hermione stated.

"Fair enough," I repeated, "Do you think we should go make sure Harry's okay?"

Hermione sighed, standing up and pulling Buckbeak up with her, "I _always_ think we should make sure Harry's okay."

We scurried together over to the lake, to where the dementors were. We reached there, but we saw Harry standing at the edge of the lake, sending out a patronus – a stag.

"_Idiot_," Hermione hissed angrily as the stag went and dispersed all the dementors – so. Many. Dementors. – and ran back to Harry, vanishing under his outstretched hand. We ran up to him, Hermione fuming, but I simply amused.

"_What did you do?_" Hermione hissed, "You said you were only going to keep a lookout!'

"He just saved your life, Hermione, and explained the mystery of Prongs," I answered calmly.

"Let's get behind a bush, quickly," Harry ordered. We all hid again as Harry explained how he realized _he_ had conjured the patronus, it had been _him_ who he had seen earlier, and since he looked so much like his dad he thought he _was_ his dad. Hermione's mouth was open in amazement.

"I can't believe it – you conjured up a Patronus that drove away all those dementors… that's very, very powerful magic…"

"I knew I could do it this time, because I'd already done it… does that make sense?" Harry asked.

"Kinda… Look, Snape's coming!" I hissed.

Snape was walking over to Sirius, Hermione, and Harry, conjuring stretchers and lifting the three of them onto them. Then he walked over to Neville, and they had a very loud discussion in which Neville tried to explain about Black and Snape was having none of it, insulting Neville frequently. Snape then woke me up and, despite my protests, forced us to follow him up to the castle.

"Alright, it's nearly time," Hermione stated, looking at her watch, "We've got about forty-five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the Hospital Wing. We've got to rescue Sirius and get back to the ward before anyone realizes we're missing."

We waited, wondering whether or not Sirius was up there yet, Buckbeak digging around for worms behind us.

"Look!" Hermione gasped, pointing at a person coming out of the castle, "Someone's coming!"

The man was running across the ground, something glinting in his belt – the metal of an axe.

"Macnair!" Harry gasped, "He's gone to get the dementors! It's time!"

I jumped onto Buckbeak's back and helped Harry onto it behind me. Hermione came on last with the help of Harry, holding tightly to his waist. I could see when I looked behind that her face was flushed at this, but Harry didn't notice. I tried to contain my ill-timed amusement as I urged Buckbeak forward with my heels, whispering for him to fly. His powerful wings flapped and we took off into the air.

"This is bizarre," Harry whispered.

"Oh, I _really _don't like this," Hermione moaned.

I urged Buckbeak forward, reveling once again in the feel of the natural flight as we soared around the upper floors of the castle, counting the windows as they flashed past us. When we reached the right window, I pulled back madly, stopping Buckbeak and we hovered outside of the window.

"He's there!" Harry gasped, pointing at Sirius. I urged Buckbeak closer to the window and Harry tapped on the glass. Black looked up and his jaw dropped in shock, leaping from his chair, trying to open the window, but it was locked.

"Stand back!" Hermione called, and she pulled out her wand, whispering, "_Alohomora!_" The window sprang open and Black leaned out.

"How… How…" Black whispered.

"Get on, there's no time to explain," I hissed. Black managed to hoist himself through the window frame and onto Buckbeak and just managed to fit behind Hermione.

"Alright Buckbeak, up! Up to the tower, come on!" I urged. We rose up to the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed on the battlements, and we three slid off him immediately.

"Sirius, do you know where my mum's house is? The Nest, in the woods?" I asked urgently. He nodded mutely.

"Go there and hide in the woods nearby. Dumbledore wants you to hide out with us," I ordered, "But I don't know yet if he'll be able to persuade mum of your innocence – I feel he'll be able to – at any rate, hide out there until someone comes looking for you, mum or Dumbledore or me or Harry or someone. Alright?"

Sirius nodded.

"You'd better go, they'll find out you're gone soon," Harry murmured.

"What happened to Neville?" Sirius croaked.

"He's going to be okay, his leg's just hurt so he couldn't come along," Hermione explained, "Quickly, Sirius, _go_."

Black stared down at us in amazement, "How can I ever thank…"

"GO!" we all shouted.

Black wheeled Buckbeak to the open sky, "Well, with any luck… see you all soon."

He then took off into the air, they were flapping away to the moon, taking off into the air and then they were gone.

"We've got twenty two minutes to get back down to the hospital wing!" Hermione murmured, "Come on!"

We all sprinted down the staircase, running through the corridors. We dashed through passageways I knew because of the Twins, sneaking along and managing to not be noticed until we finally reached the door to the Hospital Wing, one minute before he was going to lock the door. He backed out and turned to us, a wide smile appearing under his beard.

"Well?" he asked quietly.

"We did it!" Harry gasped, "He's on his way to Aunt Melinda's…"

"Well done," Dumbledore praised, "I will go explain to Melinda everything once the outrage has settled down. She's very anxious but she knows not to leave my office… and you've gone now, yes, you may go back in."

We slipped back inside the Hospital Wing. Neville was sitting upright, looking at us in shock.

"Alright, someone explain to me how you did that," he demanded.

Madam Pomfrey came out before any of us could explain, making sure we ate chocolate, lying down back against our beds. Neville looked so confused, I felt bad. Suddenly, there were voices outside of the door.

"What was that?" Madam Pomfrey asked in confusion.

There were angry voices, growing louder and louder. Neville looked at me in confusion and I simply grinned back at him.

"Really, they'll wake everyone up! What…" Madam Pomfrey frowned.

"He must have disapparated, Severus. We should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out…"

"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE! YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS – HAS – SOMETHING – TO – DO – WITH – POTTER!" Snape roared.

"Severus, be reasonable, harry has been locked up…"

BAM.

The door of the hospital wing burst open, and Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore entered. Dumbledore looked calm and rather pleased. Fudge was angry, and Snape was a wreck.

"OUT WITH IT, POTTER!" Snape bellowed, "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Professor Snape, control yourself!" Madam Pomfrey ordered.

"See here, Snape, be reasonable. This door's been locked, we just saw…" Fudge explained.

"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape howled, pointing at us all. I looked at him furiously.

"Calm down, man!" Fudge barked, "You're talking nonsense!"

"HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT!" Snape screamed.

"That's enough, Severus," Dumbledore ordered quietly, "Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students lef their beds?"

"Of course not!" Madam Pomfrey agreed," I would have heard them!"

"Well, there you have it, Severus," Dumbledore stated, "Unless you are suggesting Harry, Hermione, and Maggie are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further."

Snape stood there seething, not looking at me and my anger at him on purpose. Fudge was completely shocked at Snape's behavior. He finally whirled around and left the ward.

"Fellow seems unbalanced… I'd watch out for him, Dumbledore…" Fudge frowned.

"Oh, he's not unbalanced. He's just suffered a severe disappointment," Dumbledore explained.

"He's not the only one! The _Daily Prophet's_ going to have a field day –"

"Really sucks, doesn't it?" I asked calmly, "That's all that matters, isn't it? Public opinion?"

Fudge looked at me, seemingly trying to restrain himself, before whirling in a similar fashion as Snape and stomping out of the room. I smirked and sat back against my bed. Dumbledore shook his head in quiet amazement.

"The dementors will be removed at last, I assume, Professor Dumbledore?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Thank Merlin, yes. They attacked an innocent student; Fudge hasn't a leg to stand on," Dumbledore responded, "At any rate, I'm going to go talk to Maggie's mother, I'm sure she's very distressed right now. Good night, all."

Madam Pomfrey then headed back to her office in a huff. When the door was closed, I turned and explained everything to Neville as Hermione and Harry sat there, providing things I missed.

When I finished, I sat back in my bed, frowning.

"Guys, we have to promise ourselves one thing," I stated in a calm voice.

"Oh?" Harry asked.

"We never, _ever_, tell Ron he showed affection to a mass murderer for years," I ordered.

We all laughed together for a long time before nodding in agreement and going to bed.

AN: One more chapter for PoA! I have so much left to include in that last chapter - mainly, Melinda's response to harboring a fugitive, George and Maggie's first date, and the end of the school year, I decided to include another chapter. Plus, I haven't much more time to write - I'm going to the Field Museum with Sister-who-keeps-visiting and my brother today and I won't have time to type/write. Hence, this early morning update before I leave. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter - I tried to make it less retelling than the last one but, despite my different phrasing of the dialogue and changes, it's still very similar. At least, now, Sirius gets to live with Harry after all. And by the way, I have great personal satisfaction in randomly inserting memes into chapters. Like "Get in the car, there's no time to explain" turning into "Get on the hippogriff, there's no time to explain." Ah, the internet.

Shout outs! Thank you to alaskanwoman25, sre16animelover, and ohnsocz for favoriting/following this story, and thank you to rangerhero, Magical fan18, Edmond O'Donald, Cooky Crumbla, puncher71, Guest, and DreamCatcher1991 for reviewing. I hope you'll all review this new chapter! Thank you!


	26. Ch 25: June 10 – End of Term, 1994

Chapter Twenty-Five: June 10 – End of Term, 1994, Hogwarts

The next morning we were finally released from the hospital wing and summoned down to Professor Dumbledore's office. We headed down together calmly, avoiding the bulk of our classmates, and knocked on the door.

Professor Dumbledore was inside, and so was my mother.

"Hello mum," I greeted cheerfully.

"Do you have _any idea how much trouble you are in young lady_?" my mother screeched, getting to her feet in fury.

"I think I have a funny idea based on the urgency in your voice," I responded calmly.

"You endangered your _life_, you endangered your _cousin's life_, you made life very difficult for a lot of people, you increased the Minister's suspicion of your and probably jeapordized my job!" Mum roared.

"Melinda, _calm_ yourself," Dumbledore begged.

She took a deep breath and ran her hands through her hair, pulling at it.

"I just don't understand _why_ you would talk back to the Minister. Fine, go out at night to comfort Hagrid – I can't argue with that. Fine, listen to the story of a convicted felon and realize his innocence – even I had to agree with Dumbledore's story, seeing as I _never_ thought Black would join the Dark Side and Lily _had_ said they had changed their mind about their secret keeper, but I just thought they had changed it back. Fine, save the convicted felon and bring him back to my house even though we hate each other. But _talking back to the Minister of Magic? My boss?_ It's hard enough for me in there being muggle born, now I… I… I'm just glad you're okay," Mum finally sighed, looking at me sadly and pulling me into a hug, "I was so terrified when Albus sent me his patronus and… and… why must you always get yourself into dangerous situations?"

"Because I like to solve problems bigger than myself?" I suggested with a skewed smile.

Mum rolled her eyes and pushed me out of the impromptu hug, sighing.

"Is it going to be like this _every_ year?" Mum asked.

"Yeah. I think it is," I beamed.

"Merlin. And Harry! I can't believe how irresponsible you were. I expect this stuff from Maggie, but… I suppose I should expect it from you as well," Mum groaned.

Harry frowned and looked down at his feet, before looking up.

"So are you going to let Si- Padfoot stay with us?" Harry asked.

"Well, I feel I have no choice. But you kids brought the incessant fighting down on yourselves," Mum rolled her eyes.

"At least we'll know what to expect," I joked. Mum glared at me and I stopped grinning immediately.

"I'll see you kids when you come home. Also, Neville, Hermione – the Quidditch World Cup is this summer. I plan on asking your parents to for you to come and stay since I can probably swindle two extra tickets for it, if I still am a diplomat by then… I hope that you can," Mum smiled, "I'll write your folks later on."

"Thank you Mrs. Johnson," Hermione beamed.

"Yeah, thanks," Neville smiled too.

"Alright, I have more to discuss with Professor Dumbledore. I will see you later," Mum dismissed and we all walked down through the corridor.

"Where to next?" Hermione asked cheerfully.

"Hagrid's Hut?" Neville suggested, "I want to see how happy he is with Buckbeak free."

"I like that plan," Harry agreed. We walked down the castle steps, reaching the front doors to the school without trouble, and walked outside without anyone trying to stop us. We walked across the grounds and reached the Hut cheerfully.

Hagrid was already outside, singing to himself as he watered the pumpkins in the pumpkin patch. We all walked over to him and he turned to us, beaming.

"Harry! Hermione! Maggie! Neville!" he greeted, "Know I shouldn' feel happy, after wha' happened las' night an' all – I mean, Black escaped again an' everything. But guess what? _Guess what!_" Hagrid greeted eagerly.

We all tried to hide our expectation as we answered in unison, "What?"

"Beaky! He escaped! He's free, out in the forest or somewhere, but he got away! Bin celebratin' all night I 'ave!" Hagrid cheered happily.

"That's wonderful!" Hermione beamed.

"Yeah, I must've not tied him up properly," Hagrid continued, "I was worried this mornin', o course… thought he mighta met Professor Lupin on the grounds, but Lupin said he never ate anythin' las' night…"

"What are you talking about?" I interjected quickly, panic filling me that he knew that we knew.

"Blimey, yeh haven' heard?" Hagrid stopped smiling slightly, "Ah… Snape told all the Slytherins this mornin'… thought everyone'd know by now, yeh see… Professor Lupin's a werewolf... an' he was loose on the grounds last night… he's packin' now, o' course."

"He's _packing_? Why?" Harry demanded, looking at Hagrid in alarm.

"Leavin', isn' he?" Hagrid responded, surprised that Harry didn't understand immediately, 'Resigned firs' thing this mornin'. Says he can't risk it happenin' again."

Harry got to his feet and, without another words, sprinted back to the castle. I made a move to follow him, as did Hermione, but Neville held us back.

"Let him go," Neville murmured, "He's not going to be happy about this… none of us are."

"Course," I sighed, "I'm going to the Common Room… see you all later." I got up and left the three of them alone in the pumpkin patch, heading back up to Gryffindor Tower. Lupin resigning had put me in a foul mood and I needed someone other than my three best friends to take me out of it – someone who hadn't nearly gotten their best friend's godfather free from police persecution and had it slip through their fingers the night before.

I reached the tower and came face-to-face with George.

"Hey Maggie," George looked at me in amusement, "Where've you been? I haven't seen you in the Common Room since you found out about Buckbeak…"

"_That_ is the definition of a long story," I paused, _and no one told me not to tell you…_ "What are you up to now?"

"I was going to go to Hogsmeade… I suppose you can't…" George frowned.

"I think they'll let me – Dumbledore, at any rate, will," I laughed, "If you want, we can sneak through the passageway though."

"If you think Dumbledore will let you, then let's try the legal way," George grinned, "Would this be our first date at last?"

"I reckon it will," I felt myself flush red, "Let's go."

We walked back down to Professor Dumbledore's office and I gave the password, which he was surprised I knew, and knocked on the second wooden door. Dumbledore opened the door and smiled down at me.

"Miss Johnson! What a pleasant surprise! I didn't expect to see you so soon, and I was just about to leave to escort Professor Lupin off the grounds… Is it important?"

"Um… I was wondering, if I could go to Hogsmeade now," I asked calmly.

My mother appeared behind Dumbledore rolling her eyes, "Alright, Dumbledore, Maggie and Harry have my position now. After all… it's all quite pointless."

"Wonderful Melinda," Dumbledore smiled, "I will speak to you later. Goodbye, Miss Johnson, Mr. Weasley," and he walked down the staircase, leaving me with George and my mother. What an awkward situation.

"Who is this, Maggie?" Mum asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Ah… Mum, this is George. George, this is my mum," I introduced, flushing red again.

George's face went as red as his hair and he extended an arm, mumbling, "Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Johnson."

Mum raised an eyebrow, "You're one of Arthur's children, yes? Pleased to meet you too. Arthur's one of the very few of my colleagues I actually respect."

"Thank you," George was still red and I wanted to help him escape, but I knew it wouldn't be easy.

"I've heard Maggie speak of you and I remember you from when we all stayed at the Leaky Cauldron. You're one of the troublemaking twins, yes?" Melinda continued.

"Yeah, I suppose," George could have had steam coming out of his ears at this point.

Melinda looked at us again and then stated calmly, "Well, enjoy yourselves in Hogsmeade. I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot of you this summer… if my assumptions at the fact that the two of you are here, asking for Maggie's ability to go to Hogsmeade, without Fred, are correct."

George looked like he wanted to sink into the floor and I felt much the same way.

Melinda walked past us and on her way down the steps she shouted, "My husband will want to speak to you when you first come to our house, Mr. Weasley."

"Yes ma'am," George responded. We waited until we heard the entrance to the office close and we looked at each other, both still red in the face.

"Well, that was wonderfully awkward," I finally said, "Shall we?"

George nodded and his hand found mine, making my now pale face turn red again as we walked out to Hogsmeade, Filch grumbling as I passed but unable to make any sort of protest as my mother had walked by him moments before.

We reached Hogsmeade and George turned to me, his hand still holding mine, our fingers intertwined.

"So, what do you want to do? Do you want to go to Zonko's again, or to Honeydukes, or the Three Broomsticks under my very very careful supervision, or…" George's voice trailed off into the distance.

"Three Broomsticks. I want to tell you about my adventures sans you… last night in particular, but if you want to hear the first-hand accounts of first and second year I might be able to fit them in," I smiled awkwardly.

"I'd love that," George beamed, "And you pace yourself on the Butterbeer."

"What, you _don't_ want my inhibitions lowered?" I quoted Fred, making George roll his eyes.

"How is Fred doing, by the way?" I asked as we walked towards the pub, "With all of this, I mean."

"He's coming to terms with it… he just doesn't want you to hate us if this goes wrong. Well, really, he doesn't want you to associate him with me even though we look identical because it won't have been _him_ who you dated and everything," George rambled.

"He's so convinced this is going to end in flames?" I asked sadly.

"He's convinced that things go wrong, which I can't blame him for. At any rate, he has a right to be concerned, as anything that happens with us will undoubtedly affect him. So you're going to have to make a lot of promises to him if this… becomes… serious," George spluttered in embarrassment.

"Fair enough, I will," I smiled weakly as we entered the pub and sat down at a table, George ordering two butterbeers and two sandwiches. I sipped mine slowly and George looked at me expectantly.

"Last night first?" I asked.

"Please," George laughed.

"Well, Harry, Hermione, Neville and I all snuck out to Hagrid's Hut to comfort him before Buckbeak's execution… he kicked us out, but not before… before… can you keep a secret?" I graoned, realizing I had to ask for the secret _at this point_.

"Of course I can," George looked outraged.

"From Ron?"

George frowned, "The statement applies especially to Ron."

"From… From Fred?"

"Really?" George looked shocked, "From Fred, too?"

"I'm just not sure I should be telling _anyone_ this, and I know you tell him everything but he could tell Ron and word could get out, and it would be bad, but you're going to have to find out anyway if you're going to visit me this summer and everything, and you deserve to know the truth b-because of this whole… thing and it's very complicated but I don't want you going around telling people," I rambled.

"Alright," George consented, "No telling Fred."

"You're a saint," I beamed.

George flushed red, "Thanks Maggie… Alright, continue."

"Well, we found Scabbers," I sighed.

"You're kidding. I was hoping the rodent would be gone for good… did you give it back to Ron?" George asked.

"Nope," I sighed, "I wish we still had the evil little… I'm getting ahead of myself."

"I'll say," George smiled a little, though it was clear he was confused, "Though why that rat could be so venomously evil I can't wait to know."

"Well we found Scabbers. Anywho, we snuck out of Hagrid's Hut so that the Minister and the others going down to the execution couldn't see us, we were under the Cloak after all, and…" I continued on through the story, up to the part where I was being dragged away with Neville.

"Why'd you dive after him?" George asked, confused, "You didn't have to go through all that dirt and everything…"

"I couldn't just let a giant dog take away one of my best friends!" I gasped, "Really, I would have done the same for Fred – d-definitely for you…"

"Alright," George smiled, "I understand. I admit that would be terrifying."

"It was horrific," I sighed, continuing and getting to the part about Sirius Black.

"_What?!_" George hissed, following suit in my lowered voice at the bringing up of Black, "I heard he got away again but – but – are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, I'm fine," I smiled.

"How can you be _smiling_, you had an encounter with a horrific mass murderer!" George groaned. He was holding my hand very tightly and it was actually borderline painful now.

"While I can't deny the truth of that statement…" I grinned, "It all ended up okay, for the most part."

"I'm so confused. Continue," George sighed.

So I talked about fighting Black, Lupin's appearance, the map, and seeing Peter Pettigrew on it.

"That's not possible…" George frowned, "Pettigrew's dead, and the map never lies."

"Oh, Pettigrew's alive. Actually, yesterday evening made me call into question your mastery of the map, but we'll get to that in a moment," I laughed. So I explained about the Great Explanation, the explanation of Sirius' innocence. George stayed silent the whole time as I went through everything: Lupin's werewolf-ness; James and Sirius wanting to help him out and becoming animagi with Pettigrew; the Map and exploring the ground; the trick on Snape; finally Black initially being the secret keeper but then switching at the last second to Pettigrew; Pettigrew selling Black out and faking his own death. I paused at the finish of the explanation..

"And… and you believe all that?" George raised an eyebrow in skepticism, "I mean… I don't want to hurt your feelings or anything, but…"

"Well," I laughed, "Seeing Pettigrew alive and hearing his confession pretty much drove it home."

"How'd you find Pettigrew?" George frowned.

"Remember? He's an animagus," I laughed. I then explained about Scabbers and how Sirius had broken out to find Pettigrew, knowing Pettigrew was Scabbers. I then described how the rat was transformed into Pettigrew before my eyes.

"You're… kidding," George looked dumbstruck.

"Nope. My question here, is," I laughed, "How did you _not_ notice your brother was sharing a bed with a man named Peter Pettigrew for three years?"

"Honestly, we never look at the dormitories… we were just focusing on memorizing the castle… and…" George was frowning, "Now that you mention it…"

"Yes?" I grinned.

"Second year… Percy had the rat before Ron, you know… we saw that he had a bloke named Peter in his bed… Well, back then we didn't know the name of the wizard Black had killed, so we just… kind of ignored it, we didn't want to worry mum about Percy's sexual experimentation… so after that we made a policy to just not look in the dormitories for the privacy of our fellow students… And we never, ever say the name Peter around Percy, that's the only reason I remember the name of the bloke, is because Fred and I vowed to not bring him up for Percy's own sake… And because we never looked in the dorms again we didn't see that Ron had the same bloke in his bed… Merlin…" George's eyes were wide, "He _was_ Peter Pettigrew…"

"Yep," I laughed, "Well, Percy's not gay – I expect that confuses your perceptions a bit."

"Just a bit," George still looked shocked and was staring off into the distance, "Erm, continue…"

So I then continued about how Peter eventually confessed to it, groveling at our feet, and Harry decided to bring him up to the castle to be thrown into Azkaban. I then explained about how Lupin, Pettigrew and I were all chained up as we walked outside, just for the moon to appear from behind the clouds.

"_No!_" George gasped, his hand now practically cutting off the circulation of mine, "Are you okay? Lupin didn't get you, did he?"

"I'm fine, I just was the recipient of a spell with very marijuana-like symptoms," I then explained Sirius fighting Lupin as a dog, Pettigrew escaping after cursing me, and my blacking out while the dementors attacked. I then went into explanation of how no one but Dumbledore would believe us.

"And this is where it gets _really_ weird," I transitioned into the time-turner, explaining our escapades with that – freeing Buckbeak, Harry stopping the dementors, and flying up to rescue Black and sending him back to my house to hide out as a refugee.

"And then we woke up this morning," I finished.

George was shaking his head in shock, "Your life is just… just… mental."

"So you believe me? About Black and everything?" I asked desperately.

"_Course_ I do," George affirmed, "I _remember_ Peter, don't I? And I don't think you could be _so_ thoroughly confunded. And it explains why your mum was here – I mean, she had to be prepared for Sirius' arrival, didn't she? Just… promise me you won't tell Ron he's been sharing a bed with an evil little man."

"We already decided this," I laughed.

"Fantastic," George nodded, "And I won't tell Fred. I promise… I will need to know, I agree completely, because I _will_ be visiting this summer, but he doesn't…"

"If he wants to visit, then we tell him at my house. I don't want to risk too many people hearing," I whispered, "And from now on, we call Sirius Padfoot."

"I can't believe they're the marauders, now that you bring that up," George was grinning, "They're an _inspiration_. I can't wait to talk to him about pranking and the school and it's mysteries – seriously, I've looked up to the four of them since I was a first year."

"Me too," I laughed.

"Now just three of them are worth mention but I'm still excited for that," George beamed, then looked down at our long-empty goblets and plates, "Let's go?"

"Sure," I smiled and we left the pub, walking through the streets of Hogsmeade together hand-in-hand again. His grip on mine had loosened considerably from the death grip it had been in before.

"So, second year? The whole business with the spiders, snakes, and dragons?" George teased as we walked to Zonko's.

"Oh come on, I can't be expected to spill all my secrets on the first date," I teased, "Tell me about _your_ escapades."

"Maggie, you _know_ them all," George smiled a little, "Fred and I are the kings of bragging about these things, especially to you."

"Well, tell me something I don't know about you," I suggested, "I can't monopolize the entire date."

"Fair point," George frowned, "How's this – and this is something that Fred and I don't share, either – I have a slight fear of toads."

"You're _kidding_," I laughed, "Why?"

"The texture of their skin just gives me the creeps," George shivered, "It's just so weird and foreign. I don't like the way they look, either. Fred thinks I'm mental, but I don't criticize him for _his_ fears. And don't ask me what they are, I've been sworn to oath."

"I accept that," I smiled, "Have you ever interacted with a toad?"

"Loads of them," George nodded, "And every time I just want to get _rid_ of the thing."

I giggled but smiled up at him, "Well, we all have our irrational fears. I'm sure yours has a good reason behind it."

"Thanks," George looked sincerely touched as we reached the area near the Shrieking Shack and looked up at it together.

The rest of the time we exchanged the little details of our lives – favorites and least favorites, for the most part. I discovered that his least favorite color was pink, while his most favorite was green. He discovered that I couldn't stand too much standing water – rain was okay, but I hated swimming. We talked for hours about this pointless stuff, sitting out in the warm grass next to the no-longer-threatening Shrieking Shack. Eventually the sun began to set, but I didn't want to leave. We were sitting next to each other; I curled up underneath his arm and his head resting on top of mine.

"Well," George paused, "We should get back."

"Which sucks," I responded sadly, looking down at the grass.

"I take it you had fun then?" George asked, helping me up from the grass and walking down the Hogsmeade street with me back to the castle.

"Course I did… did you? Despite my endless rambling," I stammered.

"Of course," George responded in kind as we reached the gates and continued up to the doors, "I almost feel like that's a silly point."

"I kind of agree with you," I smiled as we walked into the castle and up to the Gryffindor Common Room, "Fred's going to be angry that this is lasting longer than one hand-holding expedition."

"Eh, he'll get over it," George grinned down at me as we reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, leaning down and kissing me on the cheek. I felt my entire face flush bright red and he chuckled at me, giving the portrait the password and us entering the Room. Harry was sitting there, playing chess with Hermione as Neville tended one of his plants. Fred walked over to us, his smile strained but clearly genuine.

"You kids had fun then?" Fred teased.

"Definitely," George answered calmly.

"Alright then, I officially give up," Fred nodded, "Now you've monopolized enough of his time, Maggie. I need to discuss business with him."

"Be my guest," I gave his hand a squeeze and turned back to take my usual seat at the four-person table. Neville didn't say anything, but Harry and Hermione looked up from their chess game.

"How'd it go?" Hermione asked in a teasing voice.

"Very well, thank you," I smiled, before lowering my voice, "I had to… to tell him all about… yesterday, so when he comes over this summer he doesn't immediately call the dementors. I'm sorry."

"We kind of expected it," Harry answered calmly, "So long as you swore him to absolute secrecy."

"He promises to tell no one, not even Fred," I agreed.

"Good," Harry paused, "I'll be giving him a little lecture on not hurting you tomorrow."

"Have fun," I grinned, "How was… How was Lupin?"

"Well, he's gone," Harry sighed sadly, "He explained that no one will want to have their child taught by a werewolf and he found himself agreeing with them… but we'll see him again. He'll stop by to check up on Padfoot."

"Well that's good. Anything else I should be caught up with?" I furthered.

"Just that Dumbledore reckons Pettigrew owes me a life debt now, which might come in handy later. I dunno, I don't like thinking that man owes me anything," Harry shivered with disgust.

"Understandable," I nodded.

They resumed their game of Chess as I propped open a book and read it in complete contentment.

The next day I spent with Ginny, shooting arrows at new targets Hagrid had prepared in his immense joy at Buckbeak's release. She had matured a lot over the year; she was a lot taller – taller than me, even, by about two inches. She was developing slight curves as well and seemed to be gaining a lot of confidence.

"Without that damn diary, I've spent this year pretty much trying to figure out my own identity," Ginny explained as she shot an arrow dead into the center of the target, "And since you, Harry, Hermione and Neville have been so distracted with Buckbeak and everything else, I haven't had much time to be embarrassed around Harry."

"That's brilliant," I grinned, _please get over him because I'm rooting for Hermione, please… _

"I hope he realizes how much I've grown," Ginny sighed.

_Oh eff._

"I mean, I know I've botched it up so far – I'm always so nervous around him, I'm not at all myself. You say so yourself, Maggie. I just want to impress him," Ginny let out another sigh, "That's my goal for next year. To impress him with who I am, and not be such an obsession-struck… kid."

"That's great, Ginny," I responded sincerely. Inside I was grimacing. This was just painful to have to deal with. Ginny was awesome, and I loved her, but I didn't think she was right for my brother in the long run.

"Will you help me?" Ginny asked softly.

_Oh COME ON_.

"I… Ginny…" I sighed.

"_Please_, Maggie? I don't know who else I would ask for this," Ginny begged.

"I can't… there's very little… I don't own my brother's heart," I finally decided on, "I can't make him like or not like you. There's very little I can do to help out and I don't want… to get your hopes up. _Really_, Ginny, I promise."

"Alright," Ginny looked so disheartened I had to say something to cheer her up.

"But you know, no matter what happens, you are such an awesome person. Whether it's Harry or someone else, there's going to be someone out there who makes you feel like some sort of Queen, and you're going to be so happy," I reassured.

"Really?" Ginny asked in a small voice.

"Seriously. And I wouldn't lie," I beamed, _hence my not just saying 'I won't help you with Harry because I'm rooting for Hermione_.'

"Thank you, Maggie," Ginny smiled, "I'm glad George makes you think all these things."

I felt my face turn bright tomato red and I quickly shot an arrow at a target. Voices could be heard approaching us after we shot for a little while longer, voices I loathed so much I wanted to strangle their owners on sight.

"I can't believe that _great oaf_ got away with it! I'm sure he freed the monster – how else could it have gotten away? I can't believe we've been _had_ by such a _great, big idiot_. First he remains a teacher at this pathetic school, and now his stupid beast is still alive. Father's furious, of course. Doesn't understand how we could be tricked by someone so pathetically dim-witted…"

It was Draco Malfoy, followed by Crabbe and Goyle, walking across the grounds. I immediately grabbed an arrow, notched it, and shot. I was good enough now that I managed to shoot moving targets almost spot on, and I aimed for just in front of Draco's face, where he would be in two seconds. And, sure enough, the arrow narrowly avoided his nose, flying past him to the top of the hill. Draco let out a scream of terror and froze in his tracks, his eyes widening as he turned for the source of the arrow.

"_Johnson!_" he roared.

I notched another arrow, "Don't come _any closer_, Malfoy!"

Malfoy stopped in his tracks and glared at us, but clearly terrified of my arrows. Ginny raised hers as well and we stood together, aiming directly at their faces.

"You wouldn't dare," Malfoy finally stated, "You wouldn't _dare_."

"No, I don't think I'd kill you. Be too much effort for scum like you," I snarled, "But if you come any closer, I _will_ kick your ass."

"I'd like to see you try," Malfoy sneered.

"_Must_ we continue having this argument, Malfoy?" I sighed, "I've clearly shown you that I will beat you every time a lot of times, now."

"I don't think you really have proven that, Johnson," Malfoy laughed. He then stepped forward, coming closer.

"Ginny, hold this," I handed her the bow and arrows and walked up to Malfoy, entering his personal bubble and glaring at him face-to-face. He wasn't much taller than me, so I managed to be somewhat intimidating with this.

"Do you really want to find out what will happen?" I hissed.

"Well, I suppose I can safely assume you will be biting me again," Malfoy snapped. He then moved his arm as if to slap me but I twisted it behind his back, flipping him around and kicking him in the shin. He then swung around and punched me in the face, hurtling me backward into the grass.

"Maggie!" Ginny shouted in terror. I stood up and kicked Malfoy in the groin, sending _him_ flying backward now, unable to even scream in pain. But I hadn't counted on Malfoy's cronies. Crabbe seized me from behind and Goyle threw another punch at me, hitting me in the jaw and making me taste blood in my mouth. He then punched me again in the stomach and Ginny was actively screaming now, unable to do anything, as small as she was and as inexperienced with magic as she was. I struggled, trying to break free of Crabbe, but I was unable to.

"_Get away from her!_" I heard a voice shout. I turned to see Harry and Neville running down to us. Neville ripped Crabbe away from me and Harry punched Goyle in the face. I collapsed to my knees, wiping my mouth off, smearing blood on my hand.

"Go on, get!" Harry shouted, kicking very hard Crabbe in the legs now.

"Potter, come to save your wretched cousin…" Malfoy sneered, though his voice was very high pitched.

"Oh get away you little girl," Harry snarled, "Go on!"

The three of them ran away, knowing when they had been beaten I supposed. I clutched my aching head as Harry and Neville helped me up.

"It's a good thing we got here – he was about to kill you," Harry sighed.

"I had it under control," I muttered in a muffled voice.

"Yes, I'm sure your burgeoning black eye and damaged jaw agrees with you," Harry snapped, "Lucky Neville spotted you."

"Shut up," I felt ashamed of myself and weak.

"Look, you beat Malfoy, you just couldn't beat his thugs," Neville reassured, "Don't' worry about them, they're giant losers."

"Thanks Neville," I whispered.

"Let's get you to the Hospital Wing. Want to come, Ginny?" Neville asked. Ginny nodded and the four of us walked up to the castle, me to the Hospital Wing for the second time in two days.

The next day Hermione and I were sitting together in the dormitory, as I was spending the day laying down to rest after yesterday and she decided to keep me company, mainly for a long awaited heart-to-heart.

"So, detailed reasoning behind Harry-crush. Go," I ordered cheerfully from my bed, snuggled underneath all the covers and fairly comfortable.

"This might take a while, Maggie," Hermione groaned.

I gestured to my current tucked-in state, "Does it _look_ like I have anywhere to go?"

Hermione let out another sigh and sat next to the head of my bed, staring out at something I couldn't see.

"Alright, well you already know that I can't imagine being closer to anyone. I suppose I should add onto that that Neville's like the brother I never had, to me. Not to mention… well, I know he likes someone, quite a lot actually, and he would never even look at me that way for a second. And that's a relief, not a disappointment," Hermione began.

"Fair enough. I don't suppose you'll tell me who he likes?" I asked.

"I really can't, he told me not to tell anyone," Hermione responded, "_I'm_ not even supposed to know… I guessed."

"You clever girl you," I teased.

"Did you watch Jurassic Park again?" Hermione asked in amusement.

"Don't change the subject. Harry, reasoning, go."

"Anywho, well, I find your adopted brother very attractive, Maggie, and I'm going to get this reason out of the way before you start gagging for me. I like his eyes, I love that his hair is never tidy and that it's so jet-black, and I never have been one for the muscly, tall, bulky guys. He's short, but taller than me, and scrawny, and for some reason, I like that," Hermione was flushed awkwardly.

"Alright, we don't have to discuss Harry's physical features any more beyond this point. And I mean this to apply to all future conversations on this topic," I ordered.

"Exactly, that's why I got it over with. Anyways, next, he is a very clever bloke, don't you think? I dunno, I wouldn't be able to be with a man who was smarter than me… I'm fully aware that my ego would take a hit. But he's smart enough to keep up with me on most days, and he's obviously brilliant at solving mysteries," Hermione continued.

"A valid reason, go on," I nodded.

"Well… ah… he's very caring, isn't he? He really loves the people around him – he wants to what he can for them, he isn't afraid to care about others, in fact it's what he does best," Hermione was flushed again, "I don't think I could be with a guy who was cold-hearted or had the emotional range of a teaspoon."

"Fair enough," I laughed.

"And he's very brave, obviously – I don't want some guy who will run away from conflict or won't stand up for what's right. I deeply admire and… well, love… the fact that he _wants_ to solve all these problems, battle You-Know-Who, save the students, catch the man who betrayed his parents… I don't think any other guy could compete with Harry because of that," Hermione whispered.

"That's true, I'll give you that. Now… what about the bad things?" I asked, "Because Harry isn't perfect and if this thing is going to happen _and_ last, which it must or else I'll kill you, you need to accept his flaws as part of him, don't you?"

"That's true, I know," Hermione sighed, frowning, "Well… he is sort of completely obsessed with solving problems. I love that, but at the same time, he doesn't know when to leave it alone…"

"Exactly," I rolled my eyes.

"Well I mean, that kinda is like a guy who is married to his work, isn't it? I guess, since I usually help him out so much with it, it wouldn't be too huge of a problem… and if for some reason he gave me up to go after a dark wizard or to solve a problem… well, I'd insist to come with him, wouldn't? I suppose the fact that he's so focused on this kind of stuff means that I'd need a hobby to occupy me when he's out catching dark wizards, but I shouldn't have much of a problem with that," Hermione rambled.

"As long as you're aware it could become a problem," I frowned, "He obviously has more flaws…"

"He's _awfully_ melodramatic, isn't he?" Hermione laughed. I grinned back.

"Tell me about it," I rolled my eyes.

"I guess with that I'd just try and bring him back down to earth, and if I can't, comfort him in whatever he's… somewhat overreacting about… now," Hermione smiled, "_That_ I really don't mind."

"More power to ya," I sighed, "Have we exhausted everything?"

"I think we might have. If I can think of either a good thing or a fault, I'll definitely talk again," Hermione stated, "And if he annoys me immensely…"

"You can just complain to me in any sort of public venue with that, unless the reason he's annoying you is _because_ you like him and he's doing something irritable because of that. Any who, I'm going to take a nap, but I'll see you later," I waved as she walked out of the dormitory.

The next day I went down to Professor Snape's office, not because I had a death wish, but because I just needed to clarify something. I knew who the woman was and I just wanted to tell him that I knew. I entered his office and sat down in my usual chair, though he was glaring at me the moment he saw me.

"Care to assist any more fugitives in escaping their due, Miss Johnson?" Snape sneered.

"Not today," I shrugged, "Look, Professor Snape, I know you've been mad at me this whole year. And I suppose you've had every right to be, what with the boggart thing and this crazed idea that I helped Black escape. But I was coming in to let you know something, because eventually your temper will cool."

"I would highly doubt that, Miss Johnson," Snape scowled.

"Be that as it may, you have a right to know that… I figured it out," I paused.

"Figured out _what_, Miss Johnson?" Snape snarled.

"The woman, the dead woman, your boggart. It was Harry's mum, Lily, wasn't it? You don't have to answer that," I paused, "Lupin said that night that you had been friends with Lily and then something stopped you from being friends. In fact, my gran hinted at it last summer when I visited, and I don't know why I didn't see it before. But I looked up Lily's picture in Harry's photo album and it was the same woman. You don't need to explain why you have that as your boggart, even though Lily's dead… you don't even have to say anything now. I just figured you had a right to know that _I_ knew," I explained, standing up again and walking to the door, "See ya later."

"Miss Johnson," he called me back, finally recovering from the shock I had seen on his face. I turned around slowly and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

"Thank you for not prying. Maybe one day I'll tell you," he stated in as calm of a voice as he could muster. I nodded and left the room, back down to the Gryffindor Common Room.

The last day of term we got our exam results. The four of us managed to pass all our subjects; even in Potions, though Harry might have only been passed in Potions because Dumbledore had forced Snape to. Hermione received the top in everything she took exams for except three subjects – Herbology, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts in which Neville, I, and Harry got top, respectively. I even managed to somehow pass Charms, which I always considered a feat of sheer proportions.

Gryffindor won the house cup for the third year in a row, mainly because of the Quidditch World Cup, so our table was in very high spirits as we ate and drank and though ahead to the coming year. Harry looked positively golden as he ate and drank at the feast, excited no doubt to return to the Nest and to see Sirius alive and well. Even though he was also depressed at the loss of Lupin as a DADA teacher, I knew he was focusing on the bright side that evening.

We got onto the train the next day, the four of us sitting in a compartment together, George promising to stop by later when he and Fred were done pranking a Slytherin in their year. I sat back in the seat, completely relaxed and ready for a rather easy summer.

"I've dropped muggle studies," Hermione declared, "And that, plus no more divination, means I don't need the time turner and I can have a regular schedule again."

"Good for you, Hermione," Harry laughed.

"Seriously, I look forward to having healthy-Hermione back," Neville rolled his eyes.

"Well I didn't like it much anyway, to be honest. It was boring since I knew everything in it and none of you guys were in it with me, so I was pretty lonely. But I'm glad I won't be so befuddled by that time turner anymore, it really screwed up my whole schedule," Hermione sighed.

"We could tell. Sleeping through Charms, _honestly_," I laughed.

"This summer should be great, eh?" Harry asked cheerfully. He was exceptionally buoyant.

"Well, I expect so, since mum wrote to tell us we have now acquired a pet dog by the name of Snuffles," I laughed.

"And then there's the Quidditch World Cup… Aunt Melinda's got us all tickets. It should be fun," Harry laughed.

"Gran's nervous about me staying in a house in the middle of the woods. She reckons I'll get lost or something," Neville sighed.

"Don't worry, we won't let you go exploring alone," I teased.

We played exploding snap together for a while on the train, George eventually coming in and joining us, all of us talking cheerfully. However, late in the afternoon, we were momentarily distracted. A small, bobbing gray thing was disappearing and reappearing outside the window. Harry got up and opened the window to pull out the small owl, handing it to Neville.

"Wonder who that's from?" George teased. I elbowed him in the stomach teasingly.

Neville took the bit of parchment off the owl's leg and read aloud for us all.

_"Dear Harry, Maggie, and I assume Hermione and Neville,_

_I hope this letter finds you all well. Buckbeak and I have reached our hiding spot and are quite comfortable here. I would have sent this letter sooner than this morning, knowing that you were coming home today, but a certain girl's mum wouldn't stop arguing with me."_

"Well, that'll set the tone for the summer," I laughed.

Neville rolled his eyes and continued, "_I found this owl in the woods outside our hiding spot. I didn't want to use anything recognizable in case the letter is traced back to someone, and this owl was so tiny I figured it could pass by unnoticed. The dementors are probably still searching for me, but they would never be able to find me here – a certain wise old wizard is now the secret keeper for this place, so only the people who know I'm hiding here know. You'll find that you won't be able to tell anyone new." _

"So I can't tell Fred anyway," George laughed.

Neville continued, "_There's something I forgot to tell you before, and I figured I'd just say so in this letter. I was the one who sent you the Firebolt – Crookshanks took the order to the Owl Office and I used your name, but took the gold from my vault. Consider it thirteen years' worth of birthday presents._"

"Well, we were right," Hermione stated smugly.

"Just don't tell Ron, he'll have a fit," Harry grinned.

Neville laughed and continued, "_Finally, I look forward to you coming here today. Let's just say your mother isn't pleasant company alone… and your sister refuses to talk to me. It's very awkward. I'd like to close by saying that this owl is a present to Neville, seeing as I basically destroyed his leg, and also I felt like a toad wasn't a very fitting pet for such a good friend of my godson's._"

Neville looked down at the owl in his hands and he grinned.

"I have an owl. This is… brilliant," Neville laughed.

"Congrats Nev," I beamed.

"I'm so excited to see him," Harry grinned, "First off, we have to rescue him from Aunt Melinda, and then…"

"Hide him until his name is cleared?" I suggested.

"Essentially, yeah," Harry laughed.

The train pulled up to King's Cross and we all walked out. George departed with Fred, both of them waving as they left the train. The four of us left together, the owl perched on Neville's shoulder, and we saw my family standing on the platform. My dad was smiling and waving at us as per usual, and my sister was wearing her usual scowl and crossed-arms, but my mum was holding onto a leash which trailed to an exceptionally large, black dog.

Harry rushed forward and immediately scratched the dog behind the ears, making Elena roll her eyes and grumble in annoyance. The three of us followed at a slightly slower pace and greeted my parents jovially.

"Well we'll see you two this summer, we'll send word along when we're ready for you," Mum explained.

"Thank you so much Mrs. Johnson," Neville and Hermione thanked in unison.

"Oh no trouble, it should be fun," Mum beamed, "Come on kids, let's go."

And, walking alongside the big black dog, I looked forward to another year.

END OF BOOK THREE

AN: Yay a chapter of almost completely original content! I love it when that happens. So, news: I'll definitely be able to update three more times before I go back to school. On Sunday I move in, so who knows what I'll be doing (maybe I'll scrounge in an update) and Monday is my last day of freedom, so I'll probably be with me friends, but I'll still try. Tuesday, however, I start classes, and I really have to work hard this year. I'll try to come up with an update schedule based on my work load but it'll be subject to change, and more likely than not won't be recognized when I have exams coming up.

Shout Outs! Thank you to H. M. Mindy, KeeperOfDreams93, and fawks8HPHG for following/favoriting this story. Then, thank you rangerhero, puncher7, NiebieskiLis, Edmond O'Donald, H.M. Mindy, KeeperOfDreams93, Guest, Viola Potterhead Girl, TA-twinArmageddons, and Cooky Crumbla for reviewing (also, thanks H.M. Mindy for reviewing my old story, Hand Magic.) The response to this story is awesome and a real motivator, seriously, I appreciate you guys a LOT.

Please review!


	27. Ch 26: Summer Holidays, 1994, The Nest

Chapter Twenty-Six: Summer Holidays, 1994, The Nest

"OI! MAGGIE! THE GREAT GINGER IS HERE!"

The shriek of my younger sister pierced my ears and I groaned, dropping the hairbrush on my dresser. Giving up the hopeless attempt to actually make my hair not so overwhelmingly thick, I shouted back, "IN A MINUTE!"

I opened the door to my new room and ran downstairs. The house, though still the same in basics, had changed. A new floor was added and the second and third were split into more than just one big room and a bathroom. Me, Harry, Elena, and Uncle Sirius all had our own rooms now. I felt like the world had flipped upside down when I came home.

Harry met me on the spiral stairs. He looked troubled and I raised my eyebrows in confusion.

"What's up, Harry?" I asked calmly.

He paused for a long time before answering, "I'll… tell you later. It's not important." He ran up to his room on the new top floor and I reached the first floor, where my sister was reading a book at the kitchen table, as per usual, my dad was reading the newspaper, as per usual, and mum and Uncle Sirius were arguing, as per usual.

"Honestly Sirius, I don't know why you won't just put the damn seat down to the toilet," Mum groaned, "It's frustrating in the least."

"It's not _my_ fault you never check, Melinda," Uncle Sirius responded scathingly.

"But it _is_ your fault that you won't _listen_ to my request when I am currently uncomfortable and irritable and _putting up with you_ when we _hated each other at school_," Mum scowled.

I turned around, ignoring the fight, to see George grinning at me from the doorway. I walked up to him, smiling back at him.

"Want to leave before the bombs set off?" I asked.

"Do the Slytherins want to kill Harry in ways that won't be traced back to them? Come on, my dad gave me the car," George laughed, taking my hand and leading me down the two-story steps to the ground and out to the car. Though the car could fly, George didn't usually make it do so, worried that muggles would see us and I would get into more trouble with the Ministry than I already was.

"So, where to? You know, within driving distance," George teased. I rolled my eyes and frowned, staring out of the window of the Ford Anglia.

"We can go to the village again…" I sighed, "I'm sorry, there isn't much to _do_ out here. I can't wait until we get back to Hogwarts."

"You have a point," George frowned, "Too bad it's only early August."

"I know," I sighed, "Thanks for coming down for Harry's birthday, by the way. It was fun to have a large party with everyone."

"Oh no trouble, though you're sarcastic kidding is thinly veiled," George grinned at me.

"Well, with a convicted felon in the house we were lucky to have the four guests we did," I rolled my eyes, "Just you, Neville, Hermione, and Professor Lupin. Though I suppose he wouldn't want many more people than that."

"It was fun explaining to Fred that I was invited and he wasn't, by the way," George scowled.

"I'm sorry," I sighed, "There was nothing I could have done… you understand."

"Yeah," George admitted, "I do. And I'm also sorry I couldn't hang but the once before then… Mum was so angry about my O.W.L. results, well, mine and Fred's really, and Fred and I have been working on things for the Joke Shop."

"How are Weasley's Wizard Wheezes going?" I grinned as he finally stopped driving and parked up on a hill overlooking the giant woods that surrounded my house.

"Brilliantly, though we can't do too much outside of school, what with the whole no-magic thing," George beamed, "But we know what we _want_ to do when school starts up again."

"Excellent. And I know I said this earlier in a letter, but congrats on the O in Defense Against the Dark Arts and the E's in Transfiguration and Charms. You'll have a nice, free schedule next year," I laughed.

"I'd congratulate Lupin more than me on that O. The man was a genius, he really repaired the damage done by Quirrell and Lockhart. Did you know the class above me had a record low number of O.W.L.'s earned in Defense Against the Dark Arts?" George scowled, "At any rate, the only reason Fred and I really tried in that class is because it's actually _useful_… unlike the rest of the nonsense we were forced to learn."

I giggled, "So you don't think plants and potions are useful?"

"Can't say that I do, but you have that whole I-like-learning gene," George paused, "It's one of the things I like about you."

"Oh really?" I felt myself blush furiously. We were alone, at the top of a hill, in a car. If I didn't know better, I would have thought this was a ploy to… well… at the thought I flushed even more furiously.

"Do you want a picnic or something? I suppose we should have gotten food," George interrupted my thoughts, obviously aware of how embarrassed I was. I wasn't used to getting compliments from guys in any sort of situation, given that I usually scared them away with my darling personality.

"I mean we can if you want, I don't really care what we do," I laughed, "We've explored Braemar to the point of it no longer having much charm, but we only went the once – maybe there's a new shop selling Loch Ness Monster souvenirs."

"Oh Merlin," George gagged, "Let's go down there anyway, we're close and we can get some food. Then we can come back up here and sit in nature and stuff like you like."

"Gee, thanks," I laughed, "Sometime we can do what you like, you realize."

"What, go somewhere and prank people? We've been doing that since we became friends," George rolled his eyes, "Down we go."

We drove down to the village and I used my small amount of muggle money to buy us a nice lunch, driving back up in comfortable silence and sitting down in the wild grass and flowers. It was a bright, warm day, but still not too hot like it would have been in America or even in England. Eventually we laid down in the grass together, just staring up at the sky and the clouds and sun.

"You know what would be brilliant?" George asked after a while in which we just laid there holding hands. I turned my head to face his in the grass and he did the same towards me.

"Peter the Rat showing up so we could clear Uncle Sirius' name and stop my mother from having an aneurysm?" I suggested.

"Besides that," George laughed.

"Draco Malfoy was shipped to a far off country?" I continued.

"Besides that, too," George continued to laugh.

"Your mum realized that your future lies beyond the realm of academic achievement?" I added.

"Like that's going to happen," George shook his head in the grass, the bright orange contrasting with the deep green.

"Then I give up," I sighed.

"What if, at the Quidditch World Cup in a few weeks, Ireland wins, but the seeker for Bulgaria – Viktor Krum – gets the snitch? Wouldn't that be a lark…" George's voice trailed off.

"Really? A Quidditch what-if?" I laughed, bemused.

"Sorry, it's sort of an obsession with the Weasleys. Harry's being conditioned well," George chortled.

"That's what I'm afraid of," I teased.

We continued to lie in comfortable silence for a little while longer before George spoke up again.

"You know what else would be brilliant?" George suggested.

"I dunno… does it have to do with Quidditch again?" I laughed.

"No…" George paused, "Wouldn't it be brilliant if _this_ **wasn't** a lark?"

"What d'ya mean?" I asked.

"I mean, Fred keeps thinking… we're going to realize we're just friends… every time I come up here to see you. Which, admittedly, has only been three times, but… what if he's wrong?" George whispered.

I flushed again, "That… would be brilliant… yes."

"I guess… that's just my fumbling way of asking… do _you_ think this is a lark?" George continued.

"No, I really don't," I answered immediately.

"You don't?" he looked at me keenly.

"No. I think having you around, hanging out alone, and holding hands has been brilliant, and I wouldn't want it to stop," I furthered, blushing furiously in embarrassment at this statement.

George sat up on his side and looked down at me as I sat up slightly, balancing my weight on my elbows as I sort of leaned up from the ground.

"Alright… this has lead up to the big question," George was flushed as red as his hair.

"I don't think that phrase means what you think it means," I laughed.

"Not _that_ big question!" George was fairly alarmed, "No, no, I'm… I mean… not that I… What I meant to say was…"

"Calm down George, you're not in trouble," I laughed, "I'm only fourteen. Do you honestly _think_ I want it to mean… _that_?"

George looked relieved, "No, I don't suppose you do."

"Continue with what you wanted to say," I gestured.

"D'you want… to be my girlfriend? Like, steady girlfriend," George was flushed to a steaming temperature. I felt my face follow his face's example.

"Yes… Yeah, Sure…" I stammered.

"Brilliant!" George said in an oddly high pitched voice. We stared at each other for a little while, both just flushed with happiness and embarrassment. I looked up at him and he seemed to be bracing himself for a moment; this confused me, and while I tried to work out what he was thinking about he surprised me by leaning in and kissing me on the lips. My eyes widened before they closed, as I had not been expecting this. It was… different, but I liked it, much to my own surprise. When he pulled away, I fought the inherent urge to giggle.

"Well… ah… what time is it?" George asked awkwardly, his cheeks flushed in a different way now.

"Erm… no idea," I blushed, "Should I find out?"

"I just don't want your mother to worry," George interjected in a rush, "I wouldn't mind just… staying here for a while, obviously."

"Yeah," I responded, getting up and reaching into the car to look at my watch, which I had taken off due to its bulkiness and annoyance to my wrist, "It's three in the afternoon."

"We have a little while, then," George declared and I nodded, returning to curl up under his arm as we talked about nothing important in particular.

That evening, after George had dropped me off at my house and kissed me for the second time in farewell, I sat at dinner with my now one-member-larger family. Uncle Sirius was a hoot at dinner, at least to me and Harry and even Dad; he cracked so many jokes it made my sides hurt. Elena, who hated the fact that he had torn her home life asunder, did not find his jokes funny; and Mum, who simply didn't like him very much as a person, couldn't get past this to find him funny either.

"Um… Aunt Melinda, Uncle Nathaniel, Uncle Sirius?" Harry asked after a lull in conversation lead to a silence over the table.

"Yes Harry?" Mum answered, putting down her spoon to her soup and looking at him in mild concern.

"Erm… last night, I had a bit of a nightmare, but it was… weird. I wanted to talk to you about it," Harry introduced. I distinctly heard Elena snort and I threw her a sideways glare.

"What sort of nightmare?" my dad responded gruffly, frowning.

"Well, I was in this house – I've never seen it before – and… there was this old man… I think he was a muggle. And he was investigating these voices – and there was a giant snake there. And the snake went up to this chair… and on the other side was Wormtail, talking to someone in the chair… well, the someone was Lord Voldemort, and the snake told him that the old man was there, and he turned around and killed the old man and I woke up… and maybe I wouldn't find it so weird if my scar hadn't hurt really badly on top of it," Harry finished.

The adults all frowned at him in contemplation as Elena rolled her eyes and returned to her soup.

"Well, this concerns me to no end," Uncle Sirius finally sighed.

"It does add on to all the things happening at the office," my mother frowned, "And connects to what you learned in Azkaban, Sirius."

"It's the latest in a line of signs, Harry," my dad clarified, "There have been some weird things going on… troubling things. Things like last time."

"Last time?" Harry and I asked in unison as Elena completely ignored the conversation.

"The last time You-Know-Who rose to power, it wasn't as if the wizarding world was normal and happy," my mother explained, "There were a lot of signs pointing to the rise of Dark Magic… disappearances, loyalties being called upon, greater prejudice and mistrust. And the fact that your scar hurt after this dream… and the fact that Pettigrew has more likely than not returned to You-Know-Who after last spring…"

"Just adds onto the rise of Dark Magic bit," Uncle Sirius clarified, "Since your scar usually hurts only when Lord Voldemort – oh stop _shuddering _you three – is near you, the fact that it is hurting when there is no chance he is in the area…"

"I'll tell Albus immediately," mum declared, "We need to start discussing this and the other signs I've been noticing. Namely, the disappearance of Bertha Jorkins, the deterioration of my boss…"

"Deterioration of your boss?" I asked.

"The man who heads my department, Barty Crouch, has been acting very odd lately. Very odd indeed. The least of which being that after the Quidditch World Cup he has declared he plans to retire. The man is _married_ to his work, and never promotes me for two reasons – one, I'm a woman; two, I'm a muggle-born. And he's been acting very weird. Of course, because he's retiring that means I'm being promoted to head of the department at last… which worries me," mum sighed.

"Why, mum? It's what you've wanted for ages," Elena asked, finally piping into the conversation.

"Well, to begin with, someone like me – namely, muggle-born – as head of a department is going to not only turn heads but anger a _lot_ of people. Secondly, I'll have that rather annoying prat, Percy Weasley, working directly under me," Mum scowled as Harry and I immediately began chortling.

"Thirdly… Well, there are a lot of things for me to worry about now, and becoming head of the department means that Barty is going to drop them on top of my head like a ton of bricks. It's a good thing I think international relations are so important and I love my work enough to stick with madness. Honestly, my opinion of the Ministry couldn't be less these days," my mum shook her head sadly, "But like your father says, kids, to reform something corrupt you've got to work from the inside and then out."

"I still say after their botching of the Philospher's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, and Azkaban Prisoner debacles you should quit in protest," Uncle Sirius stated calmly.

"You're _lucky_ they botched the last one, Sirius, or else you'd be a sack with no soul," my mother responded scathingly.

"Be that as it may, it wasn't the job of _your adopted son_, **my godson**, and his friends to solve those problems. I wasn't even there and it haunts me how close they were to dying…" Uncle Sirius' voice trailed off into the distance.

"Something the Ministry couldn't be more aware of," Mum sighed, "Which _isn't_ a good thing. It isn't inspiring change for them, it's inspiring them to want to put tabs on my children and their friends. Tabs! I managed to get my complaint through to the Minister, invoking the rights of people and other such _muggle enforced_ nonsense. But I fear it'll get worse as the situation with You-Know-Who gets worse."

"Just _please_ try to stay out of trouble this year, kids," my dad finally interjected, "Harry, your mother didn't sacrifice herself for you for you to go and throw it away chasing after their betrayer. Maggie, for the love of Merlin, _think_ before you act."

"We answer you 'we'll try' every year, do you really think we go _looking_ for this stuff?" Harry scowled.

"Last year we were so angry with Uncle Sirius – sorry, but we thought you were guilty – that we wanted to seek him out and kill him, but with the help of Hermione and Neville we reigned ourselves in. But he found us anyway! Trouble and issues _literally_ seek us out," I groaned.

"It's like problems follow me, I can't help it," Harry insisted.

"We still feel we must try," Mum sighed, "At any rate, I'm glad I know of _one_ heroic deed you _won't_ be doing."

"What?" we asked in unison.

"It's a surprise," my mum smiled secretively as she began to take the bowls from all of us, "At any rate, you'll find out soon enough when you get to Hogwarts."

Soon after that, Neville and Hermione arrived ready to sleep over, Hermione in my room and Neville in Harry's. They would stay with us until it was time to go back to school. It was nice having someone share my room again – I had had a roommate for so long (actually, if one wanted to be technical, roommate_s_, that it was weird to have my own room.

"How was your summer, Hermione?" I asked as we went to bed the night before we were going down for the Quidditch World Cup. Since we lived relatively close, we weren't using a tent or staying overnight.

"Good," Hermione responded thoughtfully, "Quiet, but that's usual when you're with the muggles. You?"

"Loud, but that's usual when you have Sirius _and_ my mother in the same house," I sat in my bed frowning up at the ceiling, "How are you doing with… you know…"

"The Harry thing?" Hermione replied in a whisper, "I'm not going to lie, Maggie, I'm getting impatient."

"I'm sorry, Hermione," I sighed, "But he just isn't ready yet."

"_That_ I understand," Hermione was smiling rather devilishly now which was such a strange expression for her face I was momentarily startled.

"So then… what are you going to do about the fact you're impatient?" I asked, frowning down at her.

"If _Harry_ is allowed a brief fling, then by golly, aren't _I_ allowed one too?" Hermione suggested.

"Well, I mean…" I was shocked by this. Hermione wasn't the kind of girl to just go and date someone for the hell of it, "Are you sure you… want to? I'm just… confused."

"Of course you are. I'm confused by it myself. But here's my reasoning," Hermione sat up and looked at me, "Harry's going to go out with some girl. Maybe she'll be a floosy, maybe she won't. Maybe he won't go out with anyone at all. But during that time, I'm not going to be the girl he has feelings for. I'm going to be his best friend, a girl probably more like his sister than a girlfriend. Something's got to change his perception of me."

"I… that's true," I nodded in agreement, "That makes sense."

"Exactly. So, what will remind him that I _am_, in fact, a_ girl_? If I were dating someone," Hermione gestured in a _ta-da_ fashion, "Not so much that he'd be jealous – he'd have to have feelings for me for him to be jealous – but just for him to realize that I'm not just his best friend, I am a _girl_, moreover, a _dateable_ girl. And if he gets jealous all the better."

"Just one thing – what about the poor boy you'd be dating?" I asked, "I mean, it's not really fair to _him_, is it?"

"I guess I'd make it clear from the beginning I didn't see this as a serious thing. I mean I would _like_ him and everything, I'm attracted to boys other than Harry you know," Hermione explained.

"Alright, I understand that. And I'm sure there are plenty of boys who wouldn't just mind a fling," I conceded.

"Alright, well I'm glad I've told you this so that if it happens this year, you won't immediately call traitor," Hermione laughed.

"That _is_ a fair concern. We'd better get to sleep – we've got to wake up early tomorrow. Night, Hermione," I rolled over in my bed.

"Night, Maggie," and she rolled over in her sleeping bag.

The next day we woke up early and headed down to breakfast. Dad and Uncle Sirius were staying home from the Cup. Dad, being from America, didn't really understand nor care for it, and Uncle Sirius couldn't risk being recognized even as a dog. Since we lived in near-total isolation from other wizards and witches, we didn't have a portkey to get to the campground, so each of us had to side-along apparate with my mum, one at a time. It felt like my chest was being pressed in on itself and I was fairly uncomfortable. Being the first to arrive, I waited patiently while my mother repeatedly disapparated and apparated with another child. The second was Hermione, then Neville, then Harry, then Elena. Finally, we all walked through the campgrounds to greet the Weasleys, whom mum had promised to meet up with.

"Hello Arthur!" she greeted, waving as we trailed behind her.

"Ah! Melinda! So good to see you," Mr. Weasley stood up from the makeshift fire he was trying to develop and beamed at us all, "You've brought the whole herd, I see."

"Well, I couldn't just leave behind my kids' two best friends," Mum laughed, "You've met them all, I assume?"

"Let's go through the list again – that's Harry, obviously, everyone knows him," Mr. Weasley beamed and shook Harry's hand eagerly.

"And that's Maggie, she's in his year at school too," my mum gestured to me.

"Ah yes, George's girl!" Mr. Weasley shook my hand and I flushed bright red. He continued, "You really _do_ have to come over for dinner, you know."

"She'll be over this week," my mum answered for me, giving me a little glare out of the corner of her eye. I internally groaned. _Dinner with the parents? I'm going to die now_.

"Then this is Hermione Granger, their friend," Mum continued. Hermione waved awkwardly.

"Ah yes – heard a lot about you too. Ginny looks up to the pair of you, you know; we love that she's found good female role models," Mr. Weasley encouraged as he shook Hermione's hand.

"This is Neville Longbottom, their other friend," Mum went down the line. Mr. Weasley shook Neville's hand with a smile, saying, "Ah yes, Ginny talks a lot about you too."

"And then this is my youngest, Elena. She'll be going to Hogwarts this year," Mum explained calmly, "At last! She can't wait."

Elena threw my mother a look but shook Mr. Weasley's hand in a relatively friendly manner.

"Well I'll just formally introduce all my brood – I know you met a lot of them last summer but obviously that was more a thing for the kids than for us adults," Mr. Weasley went around introducing mum to all the Weasley kids. Percy, who worked underneath her, immediately started setting about making tea and fumbling to please her. The minute George simply greeted my mum like an old friend he walked over to me and gave me a hug.

"Can you believe Percy?" he stated, rolling his eyes as the brother in question ran up to my mum with a cup of tea she hadn't asked for.

"It truly is disgusting," I stuck out my tongue in irritation. Harry, Hermione, and Neville all greeted George, but Neville's was rather strained. I frowned at him but turned back to George.

"Your dad wants me over for dinner this week," I sighed.

"Of course he does. Mum can't stop asking me to ask you," George looked equally irritated, "We'll survive it."

At that moment Ginny and Fred came up to greet us cheerfully.

"How's it going, Maggie, Hermione, Neville, Harry?" Ginny asked in a rather rapid voice.

"Good," we all laughed in response.

"Haven't seen you all summer," Fred gave me a sort of awkward half-hug, "Been having fun? Oh wait, _that's_ a stupid question."

"I'm sorry about my birthday party, guys," Harry sighed, "Mum didn't want me to invite too many people and George was just invited because of Maggie…"

_That's actually the truth_, I thought in amusement.

"It's alright, we're over it," Fred laughed, "Seriously."

Ron came up and greeted Harry, but none of the rest of us. I rolled my eyes and turned back to George.

"Want to go exploring?" he suggested, "All the carts selling things should be up now."

"Excellent," I beamed. The rest of the Weasleys followed us as the two parents began talking to each other amiably. Percy was the only person who had to be dragged along. Elena, as per usual at these things, got lost in between all the red-heads and the rest of us. Since she had red hair herself (though a darker shade,) she actually blended in with the Weasleys.

We explored all the tents, looking at the souvenir shops. George bought me a little Irish-themed bracelet, making me flush with embarrassment as this happened in front of all my friends.

We reached a booth with things for the actual game – omnioculars and programs for the most part.

"Ooh!" Hermione gasped, "We should get these!"

"Here, I'll buy," Harry offered. He smiled at Hermione and Hermione's cheeks flushed in response, but Harry didn't notice. He bought programs and omnioculars for the four of us and handed them out. Neville wasn't looking at anything but his shoes, and I frowned.

"Everything alright Neville?" I asked in concern. He didn't look up but he nodded.

"Hey, Neville, want to go check out that stand over there – it has a bunch of Bulgaria things," Ginny reached out and grabbed Neville's arm, pulling him over to another booth. I frowned at this and turned with the remainder of the party to see a group of girls walking towards us. They were in the year above, but definitely from Hogwarts, as I recognized most of them. Most especially, I recognized Cho Chang.

"Hello Harry!" she greeted with a smile as the rest of the girls around her giggled. The entire group came to a stop in front of us. Harry flushed beet red and mumbled a greeting back at Cho Chang. It was fairly embarrassing to be truthful.

"How are you doing? Did you have a nice summer?" she furthered, still smiling as if nothing had happened.

"Oh yeah," Harry finally talked in a normal voice, though it was slightly higher than usual, "You?"

"Boring," Cho rolled her eyes, "Hardly _anything_ exciting happened. Ah well, at least it's time for school… Exciting things will happen there. I mean, exciting things happen wherever _you_ go, Harry. Enjoy the game!" she waved and the group of girls left through the campsite. Harry was now, if possible, even redder.

I turned to him in amusement, "Exciting things happen wherever you go, Harry?"

"I mean… she has a point," Harry was still flushed bright red.

I raised a teasing eyebrow at him and he stomped on my foot.

"Shut up."

"Come on, Harry, be honest," I laughed.

"Fine, I like her, alright? Stop torturing me," he walked off to join Neville and Ginny. I looked over at Hermione and could see the hurt and pain etched in her face. George frowned too. The rest of the Weasleys were all at a different booth so it was just the three of us.

"You alright, Hermione?" George asked quietly.

"No," Hermione whispered. I let go of George's hand and threw my arms around Hermione in a hug, squeezing a little.

"You'll be okay, Hermione. He'll come round," George said in a very quiet voice. Hermione's eyes widened and she looked at me in terror.

"_Did you tell him?!_"

"No!" I shouted in protest.

"No, Hermione, she really didn't, I just… it's the kind of thing you can tell," George explained calmly, "I mean, besides the _other_ signs, why _else_ would you be so upset at Harry having a crush?"

"Alright," Hermione sighed, "Alright, you're right… you really think he'll come round?"

"I know so," George responded in a very sure voice, "Some things just are inevitable. Now come on, cheer up – you get to watch a bunch of idiots on brooms fly around and hurt each other."

Hermione laughed in appreciation of George's statement as we rejoined the people now at the Bulgaria cart. Neville was laughing with Ginny and the two were almost completely ignoring Harry, much to my confusion. Why would _Ginny_ ignore _Harry_? Was it, too, because of Cho?

"Come on, guys, the game will start soon," I heard Bill Weasley call across the way. We all turned and made our way to the Stadium, the Weasleys sticking with us as we all had seats in the Top Box together. They weren't, unfortunately, together, and as such I sat between Harry and Neville rather than next to George. Though I was disappointed by this development, I knew I wanted to spend time with my best friends – I couldn't let my boyfriend take over my life. Mum was scolding Elena quietly for not trying to get along with everyone as Hermione and Neville discussed the turn-out for the match.

Harry was frowning and I looked to see what Harry was frowning at. Down below us were a pair of big, floppy ears – elf ears. I looked at him in shock and we both said in unison, "_Dobby?_"

The elf turned around.

"Did sir and miss just call me Dobby?" the elf squeaked. The elf definitely wasn't Dobby – it had a higher voice and a differently shaped head, with large brown eyes. I suspected she was a girl. Hermione and Neville looked on the proceedings in confusion.

"Sorry," I apologized.

"We thought you were someone we knew," Harry clarified.

"But I knows Dobby too, sir and miss!" the elf squeaked, "My name is Winky, sir and miss – and you, sir – you is surely Harry Potter!" her eyes were the size of plates.

"Yeah, I am," Harry affirmed.

"But Dobby talks of you all the time, sir!" she insisted, looking awestruck.

"How is he? How's freedom suiting him?" Harry asked curiously.

"Ah, sir," Winky was shaking her head sadly, "Meaning no disrespect, sir, but I is not sure you did Dobby a favor, sir, when you is setting him free."

"Why?" Harry asked, taken aback, "What's wrong with him?"

"Freedom is going to Dobby's head, sir," Winky explained, "Ideas above his station, sir. Can't get another position, sir."

"Why not?" I asked.

Winky lowered her voice, as though she was about to say something horrifically bad, "_He is wanting paying for his work, miss_."

"Paying?" Harry asked, "Well – why shouldn't he be paid?"

Winky looked horrified, "House-elves is not paid, sir! No, no, no. I says to Dobby, I says, go find yourself a nice family and settle down, Dobby. He is getting up to all sorts of high jinks, sir, what is unbecoming to a house-elf. You goes racketing around like this Dobby, I says, and next thing I hear you're up front of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures like some common goblin."

I looked over to my companions and was amused with what I saw. Hermione looked oddly flushed and embarrassed, staring down at her shoes. Neville was frowning at her too. When she looked up, she was looking at Harry with such an expression I felt embarrassed to see it. I turned back to Harry and Winky, realizing exactly how much my best friend cared for my other best friend.

"He should have some fun, though," I frowned.

"House-elves is not supposed to have fun," Winky frowned in response, "House-elves does what they is told. I is not liking heights at all, but my master sends me to the Top Box and I comes, miss."

"Why's he sent you up here, if he knows you don't like heights?" Harry asked.

"Master… master wants me to save him a seat, Harry Potter. He is very busy. Winky is wishing she is back in master's tent, harry Potter, but Winky does what she is told. Winky is a good house-elf."

She hid her eyes from the ground again and Harry and I turned back to our friends.

"I've never seen a house-elf before," Neville commented, "Rather odd, don't you think?"

"Dobby was odder," I sighed.

Hermione read aloud in her program that there would be a display from the mascots before the match. At one point, Draco Malfoy and his family walked in, completely ignoring the rest of us and sitting with the Minister and his entourage.

A man came up and greeted my mother, talking about everything in a cheerful fashion. When he left, my mum turned to us.

"That's Ludo Bagman, the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports," my mum explained, "He's been working with me and Crouch on this whole affair. Speaking of… that's his elf. Where is _he_?" Mum frowned down at Winky, "The match is about to start."

The four of us looked at each other in confusion. Elena had her latest book open and was reading it, refusing to talk to any of us as per usual.

Ludo Bagman walked up to the front of the box and amplified his voice with magic, before calling out to the stands below us, "Ladies and gentlemen... Welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"

I sat back, ready to be sincerely bored. If you've seen one Quidditch Match, in my opinion, you've seen them all.

"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce… the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"

"Oh no," Mum groaned next to me.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"Harry, Neville, cover your eyes," Mum ordered. They did so, but I could tell from just their mouths that the pair of them were especially confused. Hermione frowned at me as a hundred women ran out onto the field. Except they weren't really human – their beauty was other worldly, rather ethereal at best. They started to dance and all the men in the audience began acting weird, standing up, looking as if they were about to jump down to the women. Harry and Neville were fidgeting in confusion, but then the music stopped.

"Alright, you can uncover your eyes," my mum sighed. They did so, and all of us frowned up at my mum.

"Those were veela, kids," mum sighed, "They aren't really people, and they can make men do crazy things. I didn't feel like having Harry or Neville jump out of this box to try and impress them."

I looked around, trying to see George. If they had some sort of magical hold over men, then of course I wasn't mad, but did he try anything… I couldn't see him from where I was and decided to just turn back and enjoy the Irish mascots.

"And now," Ludo Bagman continued, "Kindly put your wands in the air… for the Irish National Team Mascots!"

A giant green and gold comet came zooming into the stadium, spinning around, a rainbow following it as it made laps around the stadium. The lights were brilliant and I was much more impressed with this than the dancing women. The rainbow suddenly faded and balls of light like fireworks appeared, forming a shamrock in midair, and suddenly exploding, golden rain falling from it – galleons.

"That's leprechaun gold," my mum warned, "It will disappear within the hour."

"Aww," the four of us groaned. Elena snorted at our response and continued reading as if nothing was going on around her.

Ludo Bagman then announced the players for Ireland and the players for Bulgaria in turn. Though Ireland got the most overall cheers, everyone stood up and roared for Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian seeker, as though he were king of the universe. I scoffed and rolled my eyes at this as the game finally began.

It was nothing like a Hogwarts Quidditch match.

The people were zooming round faster than I could keep up with in the omnioculars, but I didn't dare slow them down to pay attention for fear of missing things. The Quaffle moved between players at breakneck speeds and the seekers were flying so quickly they could have been breaking the sound barrier.

Ireland scored; our group burst into excited cheers.

"I'm a quarter Irish, you know," my mum assured as we watched the player who had scored fly around the stadium for a victory lap.

"We know," Harry, Elena and I shouted in unison, too excited to hear the usual story about how her Irish grandmother snuck over to Scotland to marry behind her mother's back.

The Irish team worked like a well-oiled machine, constantly regaining possession and shooting goals like I had never seen a Quidditch Team work before. It was inspiring and overwhelming at the same time. Whenever Bulgaria actually scored, Harry and Neville dutifully covered their eyes, though I knew they were probably both dying for a peek.

Suddenly, Viktor Krum pulled into a dive, the Irish seeker following him. They dove down, down to the ground, so fast I was absolutely convinced they were going to crash. But at the last second, Krum pulled upward – and the Irish seeker _did_ crash to the ground, a dull thud that sounded painful filling the stadium.

"That was really crafty of him," I commented.

"It's called the _Wronski Defensive Feint_," Harry explained hurriedly, looking through his omnioculars, "Man, I've got to try that next year."

"Just don't kill yourself," Hermione scolded.

Meanwhile, Ireland kept scoring, and were now so far ahead that Bulgaria could catch the snitch and still not win. The entire stands were in an uproar and Harry looked like he was having the time of his life watching the players play. At one point, the referee was trying to impress the Veela, acting rather ridiculous, much to all of our laughter. At another point, an Irish beater hit a Quaffle into Krum's face and his nose was broken.

The players kept playing, but suddenly Harry was shouting.

"_Look at Lynch!_" Lynch being the Irish seeker. Lynch was diving, and it was clear he had seen the snitch. I had seen that look on Harry's face enough times. He was diving, and Krum was on his tail, and they were spinning down towards the ground, going at such a blur I felt my breath catch in my throat, Harry was gripping my wrist with pent up suspense. Lynch crashed to the ground, and suddenly Harry was shouting.

"He's got it – Krum's got it – it's all over!"

Krum, his robes shining with blood, was rising into the air, a glint of gold in his hand. The final score read BULGARIA: 160, IRELAND: 170.

"Well why'd he do that?" Hermione was frowning, "Ireland won!"

"I guess he wanted to end it on his terms!" Harry responded.

"BULGARIA WINS!" Ludo Bagman was shouting, "KRUM GETS THE SNITCH – BUT IRELAND WINS! Good lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that!"

We all burst into loud and excited cheers, jumping up and down in excitement. It was hard to see what was happening on the ground, as the little green leprechauns were zooming all over the field. Krum and Lynch were both surrounded by healers, clearly in terrible shape. The Quidditch World Cup was brought up into the top box and the Irish team came in, hoisting it high above their heads. Harry simply looked star struck.

"Found your life's ambition?" I teased. Harry elbowed me in the side but we grinned at each other, both laughing. It had indeed been an experience.

AN: Sorry for the short chapter and that I had to cut up the summer holidays into two. There was simply too much time taken on the holidays that I couldn't ignore, I have no patience for the Quidditch World Cup Match (come on, it's much too long and overdrawn,) and I have to go out and run errands again today. Also, this would be the point in the story in which things start to change dramatically from the book. Do _not_ expect everything to be as you remember it. Also, I was watching _Daria_ yesterday in a fit of nostalgia, so Maggie was more sarcastic than usual.

Furthermore, I have a poll on my profile about something important to this story, so if you could vote in it, I would really appreciate it.

Shout Outs! Thank you to DarkLordofHufflepuff for following this story. Thank you to shamzika, Edmond O'Donald, rangerhero, KeeperofDreams93, H. M. Mindy, Guest, and TA-twinArmageddons for reviewing! Your reviews all make my day and I hope you'll vote in my poll.

Please review and vote!


	28. Ch 27: The Summer Holidays, 1994

Chapter Twenty – Seven: The Summer Holidays, 1994, The Nest

We left the stadium in a large drove, talking eagerly and discussing the match. Harry was star-struck still, simply amazed at what he had seen and excited to talk to the Weasleys about every detail. We reached their tent and began celebrating together; after a fairly potent muggle beverage was consumed by George he literally pulled me into a rather overly enthusiastic kiss that, having been viewed by my peers, made me want to sink into the floor with embarrassment.

Eventually we had to go, and mum side-along apparated us back to the house. Elena got to go first this this time, and when I arrived last she was already fast asleep.

"How was the match, kids?" Uncle Sirius asked cheerfully as the four of us sat down at the kitchen table to drink hot chocolate together.

"Fantastic," Harry responded immediately.

"Really cool," Neville laughed.

"Give me the run down, I can't _believe_ I wasn't there…" Uncle Sirius continued but my mum walked in at that moment and interjected, "Not tonight."

"Aww come on!" Harry begged.

"No," Mum responded calmly, "You four are exhausted, you've been up since early this morning and it's almost one in the morning. You'll be going to bed and you can tell Uncle Sirius about it tomorrow."

We all shuffled upstairs and went to bed. The next morning, the adults were already awake and discussing quietly when I shuffled downstairs, rubbing my eyes and grumbling to myself. I seemed to be the last of my peers awake – the other kids were sitting there, frowning in equal concern as the adults.

"Alright, who died?" I grunted.

"That isn't funny, Maggie," Mum snapped.

"Cut her slack, she doesn't know," my dad scolded my mum, "There was… an incident last night. We were waiting to explain it until you woke up."

"Incident?" I frowned, sitting down at the table.

"There was an attack last night," Mum continued sadly, "At the campsite."

"Was anyone hurt?" Hermione asked immediately.

"There was a stampede to get out of the campsite – a few witches and wizards are reported being dead due to the crowd crushing in on them," Mum frowned sadly, "I hope it's no one we know."

_George!_ I thought in a panic, and I felt my eyes widen in terror.

"I've already sent them a letter," Mum responded to my facial expression, "They have yet to write back."

I gripped the chair in horror but managed to calm my face.

"But the main thing is that the muggles who ran the campground – a whole family – were tortured and then murdered by a group of what was almost certainly Death Eaters," Mum finished.

"Death Eaters?" Harry asked, frowning.

"Lord Voldemort's followers," Uncle Sirius explained, "It's what they called themselves back in the old days. They used to pull these kinds of things all the time – muggle-baiting was considered a sport, and if you killed well… it was encouraged, rather than frowned upon."

"So they murdered them? Just in front of everyone?" Hermione asked in horror.

"Indeed," Uncle Sirius sighed, "Then someone shot the Dark Mark into the air, though the people at the _Daily Prophet_ think that the two incidences are unique."

"Dark Mark?" I asked, frowning.

"The symbol Lord Voldemort or his followers would fire into the air – it's a spell – whenever they murdered. But the people who murdered the muggles wouldn't have wanted that much attention drawn to themselves… they weren't trying to signal that Lord Voldemort is back, at least not yet. But the person who did send the signal probably thought they were helping…" Uncle Sirius sighed.

"It's horrible, and of course this is the day I take my post as the head of the department," Mum shook her head sadly, "I'm going to have to get to work. If you get a letter from the Weasleys you have my position to open it."

"How'd you find all this out?" Neville asked.

"Well there was an article in the _Daily Prophet_, but I didn't trust it," Mum scowled, "What we've told you comes from a letter I received from my now ex-boss early this morning."

"Why didn't you trust the article?" I asked as Mum left the house.

"It was written by Rita Skeeter, a truly awful woman," Dad scowled, "If I could have her locked up for something it would make me a happy man."

"Why is she awful?" Hermione asked in concern.

"She enjoys embellishing on the truth," Dad frowned, "Her deepest ambition is to spread misery and slander wherever she goes, and she does this through writing horrific pieces for the _Daily Prophet_. I've stopped reading it because of her."

A troubled silence fell over the kitchen. Dad stood up and began making pancakes, which we all ate silently.

When I had finally finished and was putting away the dishes, a loud tapping sounded on the window. I immediately sprinted forward and took the weak and tired Errol the owl from the window sill, taking the letter from his leg.

_Dear Melinda, _

_All of us are fine over here, though Ron is pretty bruised up. Thank you for your concern. We were thinking of having Maggie over for dinner this Wednesday? What is her favorite meal? _

_Thank you for your concern; be glad you got out before this all started. I would have been even more worried if Harry had been there. _

_~Arthur _

I breathed a sigh of relief and took out a sheet of parchment to reply on.

_Dear Mr. Weasley, _

_Thank you so much for writing back. It's good that no one was seriously injured, to say that gave me peace of mind would be an understatement. I am free on Wednesday and I must say I'm a sucker for Italian food. _

_Thank you for your invitation, and I'm sure my mum will want to write back to you as well. _

_~Maggie Johnson_

I then sent off the letter and turned back to the waiting and expectant folks behind us.

"Everyone's fine, though Ron's apparently bruised up a bit," I explained. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and returned to their usual daily activities. Harry, Hermione, Neville and I went out exploring for most of the day, visiting the different places in the forest outside of our house.

That evening I sat up with Hermione again, talking to each other about random things and unwilling to go to bed right away. We only had a few more days left until we went back to school again.

"How are things with you and George?" Hermione asked as she organized her new books for the millionth time.

"Great," I beamed back, "I can't wait to see him often again, but things are great."

"I'm glad," Hermione laughed, "You seem happy and that's the really important thing."

I looked over at her with a frown, "How are _you_ doing? I know the whole thing with Harry and that _bimbo_ upset you at the Cup."

"I'm… well, I can't say that I'm over it," Hermione admitted, "But I'm ignoring it pretty well. I mean, if George thinks we're meant together, then well, I have hope don't I?"

"Fairly true," I beamed, "And of course, you'll be having your own little fling in your own time. By the way, may I ask whom you're considering for that?"

"I'd have to wait and see who comes along," Hermione smiled slightly, "He can't be just anyone, can he?"

"Well, I can eliminate two possibilities right now: Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley," I laughed, "I refuse to eliminate anyone else. Who know, right?"

"True!" Hermione beamed, and then sighed, "I'm never going to be able to get over Harry, though. I feel bad for whoever has to deal with that emotional baggage."

"If you make it clear I thought you weren't going to worry about it, though?" I asked, frowning.

"Yeah I just… that thing at the Cup… I realized how much of a goner I really am," Hermione mumbled.

"What thing?"

"You know, where he was confused as to why House Elves shouldn't be getting salaries. I don't' know much about House Elves other than that they're servants for wizards and witches, but I do know they're not getting salaries… I guess that's taken for granted, I've been doing some research post the Cup and it's just horrific what they do to those poor elves. At any rate, just the fact that Harry wouldn't necessarily take that for granted… was… Maggie, can he just fall for me now?" Hermione begged.

"I can't control the boy's heart," I sighed, "It's a real issue, in the end. But you're right, I don't like the way House Elves are treated either. It's just awful, what Dobby had to do – punish himself, _honestly_."

"You don't like it either?" Hermione's eyes widened, "Really?"

"Hermione, I think all animals and plants are equal, do you really think that I would find House Elves beneath me?" I rolled my eyes, "I'm the angry hippie, remember?"

"Sorry, the angry part is so emphasized that we all forget the other part," Hermione beamed.

"Right, well, equality for everyone! Any who, yeah, of course I don't like it," I laughed.

"Want to start an organization with me?"

"A _what_?"

"An organization – to, you know, work to help House Elves and achieve equality for them," Hermione explained.

"Huh… Yeah, I think I'd like that," I nodded. Hermione beamed and bid me goodnight.

Wednesday I was filled with absolute terror as I left the house through the floo network and appeared at the Weasley's on the other side. I walked through to the beaming face of Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh Maggie! It's so good to finally see you. I apologize for my putting off this meeting – I must confess that I was rather frustrated with my son and it was more a punishment for him rather than a disapproval of you. Come in, come in, make yourself comfortable," Mrs. Weasley simpered. I walked in, feeling flushed and overwhelmed, and sat down on the couch.

Where my house was rustic and filled with plants everywhere – my parents were as much nature lovers as I and Elena were – this house just seemed to be multiple puzzles put together in the wrong order, but somehow in an order that made sense. The furniture was all patched up and quilt-like, there were things just scrubbing themselves and knitting themselves (my mum, who had grown up with muggles, still insisted on doing things the non-magic way,) and there were so many bits and bobs lying around it looked like the nest of a pack rat. It was kind of awesome.

"Now I know I met you in Diagon Alley before your second year, and again last summer at the Leaky Cauldron, but tell me about yourself," Mrs. Weasley simpered as she handed me a cup of tea.

"Oh, that has two sugars, George told me how you liked your tea," Mrs. Weasley beamed.

"He knows how I like my tea?" I laughed, raising my eyebrows.

"Why wouldn't I?" George finally appeared at the base of the stairs, walking over to me and smiling. I could tell he was just as terrified as I was, but was hiding it much better.

"I dunno, I don't remember drinking tea around you," I laughed.

"You must have – at any rate, I remembered," George sat next to me on the couch.

"I didn't get a cup for you, I thought you were still doing Merlin knows what with Fred in that room," Mrs. Weasley frowned.

"We're done for the day," George shook his head.

"Well then I'll go get you a cup, I'll be back in a minute," Mrs. Weasley got up and left back to the kitchen.

"We've been inventing," George quickly explained, "Stuff for the joke shop, but mum keeps confiscating our products, so we have to be secretive about it."

"I'll help when we get back to school," I offered, beaming.

"Thanks Maggie, that would be awesome," George grinned, kissing the top of my head and murmuring in my ear, "You look nice today."

"My mum insisted I wear something other than my usual grungy tomboy look," I grimaced.

"So you just went with the hippie hobo look?" George laughed, "Though I _do_ enjoy the skirt."

"It twirls! It's awesome!" I beamed, "And you know that's all the clothing I own, one of two."

"I do know that," George continued to chuckle as Mrs. Weasley came back in and handed George a cup of tea.

"So tell me about yourself, Maggie," Mrs. Weasley urged.

"Well… I'm in Harry's year – Ron's year, at school…" I paused.

"I know all that. I also know you enjoy biting people when you fight them," Mrs. Weasley smiled slightly.

"Oh God. The reputation has spread to Mrs. Weasley now," I groaned, putting my hand in front of my face.

"Aww, it's alright dear. We all get rather riled up at this house too," she reassured.

"Though not to the point of biting," George teased. I glared at him and he grinned back.

"Well I guess… I'm good at school, for the most part – there are some subjects I dislike but I'm good at transfiguration…" I paused.

"Good? Maggie, you give Hermione a run for her money," George frowned.

"I'm trying to be modest," I hissed. Mrs. Weasley, however, was smiling.

"And I love to go outside, I love walking through forests and seeing different animals and plants…" I continued.

"Ah yes, well I would expect so. I've heard descriptions of your house," Mrs. Weasley laughed.

"Yeah, it's kind of in the middle of the woods and is like a treehouse. Mum just planted a bunch of trees that literally invade the deck," I laughed, "We're basically nestled."

"I'm sure you love it though," Mrs. Weasley smiled.

"I do, you're right," I paused, "I don't think I could ever live in the city."

"Very few wizards can. There are a lot of muggles and it's very hard to use magic in them. Even though we all have to be careful out in the country, it's not the same level of care needed in cities. From what I hear, living in London is a nightmare," Mrs. Weasley agreed.

We continued to chit chat for a while, and then Mrs. Weasley excused herself to go and start making dinner. George turned to me, grinning.

"I think you handled that well," George laughed.

"Now the fun part – dinner," I groaned sadly.

"You'll be _fine_," George reassured, "Everyone already knows you, and Fred and Ginny are two of your best mates."

"Yeah, but you're also related to _Ron_ and _Percy_," I scowled.

"A fact I try to ignore every day. And Charlie and Bill are still around and they'll think you're awesome too, I guarantee it," George reassured.

"You guys think I'm awesome?" I laughed.

"Please, Fred and I tell you that all the time, and you _know_ Ginny idolizes you," George smiled slightly, before frowning, "Which worries me."

"The whole Harry thing?" I whispered, "I know. I can't… Ginny's my second choice, don't get me wrong, but I want Harry to end up with Hermione…"

"I do too, does that make me a bad brother?" George shook his head, "I mean, I'm sure I don't think about it nearly as often as you do, but when the topic is forced to my brain I agree with Hermione."

"It doesn't make you a bad brother, but we shouldn't probably talk about it now," I sighed, "Anyone could hear us."

"True," George smiled and then started grinning mischievously at me.

"What is it?" I laughed. He then, without saying another word, placed his hands on the sides of my waist and leaned in to kiss me. I instantly smiled into the kiss and placed my hands on his shoulders. He kissed me a few more times before a gagging sound rang throughout the room.

I pulled away from him and glared at Fred, who had appeared at the other end of the room and was now pretending to vomit all over the carpet.

"Thank you for your performance, Freddie," George scowled, his hands still on my waist.

"It's just… So disgusting…" Fred teased, walking over to us and sitting in the chair Mrs. Weasley had just been sitting in.

"Then why do you remain here?" I rolled my eyes.

"Mum thought you two could use a bit of company, meaning, she was worried about you two snogging all over her couch," Fred chortled.

"Thank you for taking the task of our supervisor into your hands," George was still scowling in irritation.

"Any time. So! Maggie! We have new prank ideas for you!" Fred began, and the three of us eagerly began plotting the various ways we intended to torture Draco Malfoy this upcoming school year, though George never let go of my waist. It seemed that his policy of not making Fred feel awkward didn't apply to snogging interruptions.

Dinner time finally came and we all headed together to the table. The entire Weasley family was there, a rare occasion, and it was slightly overwhelming. I sat in between George and Ginny, taking my glops of spaghetti in nervous silence.

"So Maggie, tell us about yourself," Bill beamed. It seemed to be a theme with this family. So I went into the spiel about my personality and my interests as the rest of the family ate – Ron was shoveling food into his face in a disgusting manner as always.

"You like dragons, huh?" Charlie laughed, "I bet you'd like working with them in Romania, that's what I do – there's a large reservation down there."

"I remember someone telling me you worked with dragons. What's that like?" I asked eagerly.

"Thinking about a career with the fire breathers?" Bill laughed.

"I dunno, it's one of the options I'm considering," I flushed.

"Well it's a lot of hard work – you'll have to be really up to hard manual labor. Not to mention, you'll have to get over your whole dislike of broomsticks – they're all we use," Charlie explained.

"Great," I groaned, "How do you people get used to riding on _sticks_?"

Everyone in the room chortled and continued eating.

"What else do you enjoy, Maggie?" Mr. Weasley asked calmly as I swallowed another bite of food.

"Well, I love transfiguration," I felt like I was repeating myself a lot now, "If I could do something with that, I would."

"Professor McGonagall is getting on in years," Mrs. Weasley suggested, "I mean, when Professor Dumbledore retires she'll take over for him – you could probably try and replace her."

I felt my eyebrows raise, "That would actually be rather brilliant."

"She could totally do it, too," Ginny piped up, grinning at me. I grinned back at her.

"How is your mum doing? Is she enjoying her new job?" Mr. Weasley continued conversationally.

"She's… well, she likes finally being recognized for all her hard work, but… she's worried," I frowned.

"Worried about what?" Bill looked concerned.

"There are a lot of signs… Um…" I flushed, realizing I probably wasn't allowed to talk about it.

"Signs about You-Know-Who returning?" Mr. Weasley answered, "Yes, we've noticed them too."

"Yeah, she wishes the Minister would take them more seriously, like Dumbledore," I nodded.

"The Minister is taking the proper precautions to prepare for an increase of dark activity," Percy responded pompously, "Your mother is worrying quite unnecessarily…"

"That's your boss, you prat," Fred scowled, "You should show her more respect."

"Furthermore, Mrs. Johnson knows what she's talking about. The signs _are_ increasing, and I'm not just talking about four muggles being murdered in the night," Mr. Weasley frowned, "Things feel like last time."

"What was the last war like, Dad?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Bad," Mr. Weasley answered simply, "Everyone lived in constant fear and paranoia. Your mother and I weren't actively involved in the resistance movement; to be honest, we left school when You-Know-Who initially rose to power, got married soon after, and started having children immediately. It was the whole 'carpe diem' – you know, seize the day – sort of mindset. We didn't want to wait in case one of us died. But because of that neither of us got involved in all that."

"Would you this time? If he came back?" Fred asked.

"Most definitely," Mr. Weasley answered immediately, "We wanted to last time – obviously all of our friends are on the anti-You Know Who side. But now that we're done with even having children in the house, an active role would suit us better."

"I certainly hope he doesn't come back," Mrs. Weasley frowned, looking upset, "I wouldn't want any of you kids getting into danger to fight him."

"But we'd _have_ to fight," Fred insisted.

"I couldn't just sit by and let him take over," George agreed.

"Absolutely out of the question. Not until you're out of school," Mrs. Weasley insisted.

"It was a crazy time, kids," Mr. Weasley clarified, "Many kids would just join up the minute they left school or while they were still in school – _both_ sides. The Order of the Phoenix didn't have an age requirement until two years before You Know Who was defeated…"

"Order of the Phoenix?" I asked.

"The anti-You Know Who resistance movement. It was led by Dumbledore and worked alongside the Ministry, but was separate from it," Mr. Weasley explained, "I only heard tell of it, I wasn't really a part of it. Mrs. Weasley's brothers were, and your parents of course, Maggie. Your father joined when he married your mum. And Harry's parents were huge members. I could go down the list."

"Mum's brothers?" Ginny asked.

"Gideon and Fabian," Mrs. Weasley had tears in her eyes which she quickly wiped away, "They died for the cause. Right after they died I had the twins and I named them for them, their middle names."

"Why'd they set an age limit?" I asked.

"There was this group of kids that joined up while they were still in school – they were all in the year below Harry's parents at school. They were Charlotte Sato, Gregory Lee, Charles Dewhurst, and Barbara Morgendorffer. Charles was killed the year they joined up, their sixth year, in a violent accident. Barbara was killed their seventh year when Death Eaters found her in Hogsmeade and tortured her and killed her in front of everyone. Charlotte and Gregory got married the year they came out of Hogwarts. They had a son a little time afterwards, but they were killed two days after their son was born by You-Know-Who himself," Mr. Weasley explained, "Dumbledore realized that having kids in the Order was a bad idea, not because they couldn't help, but because having anyone put themselves into such danger at such a young age…"

"Did a lot of people get married early back then?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Most did, sweetheart," Mrs. Weasley sighed, "Everyone was so terrified they were going to die, they rushed into marriages right and left. It didn't matter so much for a lot of people – your father and I have obviously done well and so has Maggie's parents. But almost every marriage in those years was done rapidly and without forethought. It was a time of very rash decisions."

Mrs. Weasley's eyes noticeably flickered to me and George before going back to Ginny. I felt like sinking to the floor in embarrassment and before anyone could comment on the exchange asked, "What happened to their son?"

"He was raised by his aunt I believe, who was a bit older than them all, Iseul Lee. His name is Sam," Mr. Weasley responded.

"I think he's in our year," Ron interjected with his mouth full of food.

"Oh yeah…" I frowned, "I never notice him."

"He's in Ravenclaw," Ginny interjected. Everyone looked at her.

"What? I've seen him around. He never talks to anyone. I'm friends with Luna Lovegood – she's a Ravenclaw – and she says he doesn't like talking to people," Ginny explained.

"That's sad. His parents were very friendly people," Mrs. Weasley lamented.

I frowned. I decided that I would try talking to him in Astronomy this year, the class we shared with the Ravenclaws. I also remembered he was in Ancient Runes; I would try there too.

"Well!" Mr. Weasley declared as we all finished our food, "Dessert?"

We all ate pieces of chocolate cake together and drank tea. The rest of the evening passed pleasantly, even with the presence of Percy and Ron. I found I liked the two oldest Weasleys a lot and enjoyed talking to them.

The evening winded down and everyone said goodbye, leaving me and George standing in front of the fireplace.

"Sorry about Fred earlier," George sighed.

"It's alright," I laughed, "I think you were more irritated by the interruption than I was."

"There is that," George chuckled, "I think that all went rather well."

"Even with the depressing dinner conversation!" I laughed. George sighed.

"I intend to do what I can to fight You-Know-Who. I don't see how I couldn't," George frowned.

"And you think _I'm_ just going to stand by? _Me_?" I raised my eyebrows.

"I would never even consider it," George smiled slightly before leaning in and kissing me again. I didn't really feel much like leaving, but I knew I had to, so I pulled away reluctantly and left back to the Nest.

September first finally came, a grungy day filled with rain and soot and sadness at the end of the summer holidays. We were using Floo powder to get to the Leaky Cauldron, and then take a cab to King's Cross. Everyone was in chaos; Neville kept forgetting things and had to run back up to Harry's room to get them. Elena and Mum were engaged in a shouting match and Hermione already had a headache.

"I remember my farewells being this chaotic," Uncle Sirius commented as I shared a cup of coffee with him at the kitchen table.

"Really? I didn't think they could ever be this bad," I frowned.

"I'm sure it's worse at the Weasleys," Hermione grumbled.

"ELENA, YOU DO _NOT _NEED EVERY BOOK THAT YOU OWN!" I heard my mother roar above our heads.

"YES I DO MUM! YOU KNOW I NEED THEM!" Elena screamed.

"YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY TAKE THEM ALL!" Mum insisted.

Harry raised his eyebrows and ran a hand through his hair in annoyance as Neville ran down the steps for the eleventh time, rather out of breath and flustered as he put down a large magical cactus on top of his things.

"Alright. _That's_ everything," he panted.

"No, you forgot Gretchen," Hermione shook her head.

"You've got to be _kidding me!_" Neville roared.

"I still can't believe you thought she was a boy owl," I laughed.

"Look, I wasn't exactly _looking_ for gender-identifiers, and Gran only saw because she peed on the damn carpet!" Neville defended as he ran upstairs for his tiny owl.

"I think he has everything now," Harry commented.

"At the very least we'll send it along, I don't want him to die," my dad chuckled softly.

Elena came stomping down the steps, and it was clear from her expression that she wasn't taking all of her books.

"Well goodbye kids," my dad smiled at us all, "It was nice having you in our home, Hermione, Neville."

"Thank you for putting up with us," Hermione smiled back.

"Oh no trouble at all," my mum insisted.

"I have a present for you, Harry," Uncle Sirius interjected, "And I suppose you all can use it." He pulled out from behind him a small ornate mirror that he handed Harry calmly.

"Aunt Melinda went and got this for me. There's two of them," Uncle Sirius explained, "Your dad and I used them to talk to each other when we were in separate detentions. All you have to do is speak into the mirror and mine will show your face, and yours mine. We can talk to each other. I usually have mine on me."

"Really?" Harry raised his eyebrows, "That's _awesome_."

"I figured you'd like it," Uncle Sirius smiled, "At any rate, this way if you have any more dreams or scar twinges, or you just have something to talk to me about, you can without worrying about exposing me."

"Thank you Uncle Sirius," Harry threw his arms around him and then pulled back from the hug. We all waved and left through the fire place, rushing through the pub, grabbing the cabs, inching through the traffic, and managed to rush onto the train just in time. Elena immediately separated from the four of us, going down the train to the other side of it. I wondered if she would find anyone at all to sit with as the four of us took a compartment and sat together.

"Why does Elena hate you two so much?" Hermione asked as we made ourselves comfortable.

"When we were kids, we dragged Elena on all of our adventures with us," I began calmly.

"But unlike us, she's not… well, she's not very adventurous," Harry continued.

"She isn't very brave," I sighed, "Not that she's a bad person or anything, or someone who doesn't stand up for the right thing… she is just completely comfortable having all her adventures in books."

"You should see her collection, I think she has every fiction novel known to man," Harry laughed.

"Anyway, soon before we all came Hogwarts – it was the singular month when Harry and I were both ten years old – we decided to go exploring this Giant Cave near our house," I continued.

"And we dragged Elena along," Harry sighed, "This was a mistake."

"There was this huge blood-sucking bugbear," I frowned, "It was monstrous. It was basically a bear the size of a medium sized dinosaur, and it was terrifying."

"Mostly to Elena. Maggie and I had already come across an overgrown shark in the lake, as well as a million other things, and we didn't get too scared," Harry clarified.

"But Elena was traumatized. She stopped talking to us and wanting to hang out with us, and she retreated to her books in her room," I sighed.

"Occasionally she'd try hanging out with us again, but all we ever did was explore the forest. She never wanted to follow," Harry lamented.

"Then we came to Hogwarts. We had all sorts of adventures, as you know, and she felt left out of the mystery-solving. And then our letters became less frequent because we got so distracted with everything," I sighed.

"We used to write her every week. By the end of the year I hadn't written to her in a month and a half," Harry admitted.

"She was so angry with us when we came home she barely said a word. We tried writing to her at the beginning of second year but even then she never wrote back to us," I continued.

"Eventually we gave up, and now she hates us," Harry sighed.

"I'm sure she won't hate you forever, I mean she's in Hogwarts with you now," Hermione insisted.

"She's your sister, she still loves you," Neville agreed.

"I don't know. I mean she's still pissed off that we're the indirect cause of her childhood home being completely changed and having a new person added to it," I frowned.

"Well we'll see what happens," Hermione nodded. The train then lurched forward and we made our way towards the school. There weren't many incidents; Fred, George and Ginny popped in at one moment to talk to us and I managed to keep George's hands to himself. For some reason I felt awkward having him all over me in front of Harry, Hermione, and Neville. Harry and Neville especially, though I really didn't know why in the latter's case. At one point, Draco Malfoy walked by, and Hermione literally had to hold me down so I wouldn't freak out and start attacking him. He was talking about some place named Durmstrang and how he almost went there for school.

"Durmstrang?" Harry asked when the three idiots had left and Hermione could let go of my hands. I was still reeling about my defeat last spring.

"It's a magical school in Eastern Europe," Hermione explained.

"There are three wizarding schools in Europe," Neville furthered, "Gran always talks about the one for Western Continental Europe – it's called Bauxbatons."

"America has three schools too, if I remember correction," I nodded, "There's one in Boston, one in Chicago, and one in Las Vegas."

"There are three in Asia as well," Hermione nodded, "And two in Africa. There's two in South America and one in Australia."

"Canadian students come to the American ones, I think," I agreed.

"I wish Malfoy had gone to Durmstrang. Then I would never have had to deal with him," I scowled.

"Life goes on," Harry laughed before frowning, "I wonder why Malfoy would bring it up now?"

"Who knows?" Neville rolled his eyes, "I've decided that worrying about Malfoy's motivations is too tiresome."

"Truth," I agreed as I raised a cauldron cake in Neville's honor and the train continued on.

AN: Here is the MOST IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE you will ever quickly skim before reviewing! I'm serious, please read this upcoming public message:

I AM NOT KIDDING WHEN I SAY THE STORY IS CHANGING DRAMATICALLY AT THIS POINT. My moments of quoting from here on out are few and far between. I don't want to give it away, but I will say that:

1. The Twiwizard Tournament is unrecognizable.  
2. Fifth Year is worse. Much Worse.  
3. I deal with adult situations starting in the fourth year, mainly because it fits in the story. And when I say adult, I mean things JKR wouldn't touch because she still had a very large child audience. And when I say things JKR wouldn't touch, I mean sexuality. Like, legitimate sexuality, not Ron and Lavender making out in a chair. If this sort of thing makes you squeamish, I'm confused as to why you're reading a T-rated romance story on , but I am sorry to see you go. I would like to point out that I do not think this age is too young to start dealing with it, before the flames come in, simply because I knew a twelve year old who got knocked up. Shit happens, people. And don't jump to conclusions from my hyperbole; no one's getting knocked up.  
4. I enjoy killing people off, often violently. Do I mourn deaths? Very much. Do I make JKR and Suzanne Collins look tame? Depends on the day. But if I do not kill of Sirius Black, like the poll is trending, then someone's going to die in his place and it WON'T be a minor character. More people die in this story than in JKR's and I will never budge on this. When you introduce more anger into a story - I hate to go all Star Wars on this - you're introducing more hatred and, ultimately (though it isn't even caused by the character,) more death.  
5. Sixth Year is more hormonal than ever. See Number 3. Also, it is much darker than in the books as a result of number 2.  
6. You gotta see how much I changed seventh year. I basically take the plot skeleton, cut out some things and add some other things, but basically utilized the things I kept in as general guidelines that were meant to be bent rather than rigidly adhered to.  
7. I HAVE BEEN INSPIRED. Yes, inspired. My friend is a comic book nut and recently gave all his friends comic book characters that match their personalities the best. I was given Gertrude Yorkes, from _Runaways_, a Marvel comic. Basically the difference between us, my friend says, is that I'm a lot happier than her. At any rate, so I went out and bought a comic (Escape to New York) so that I could peruse my alter-ego. My minor comment is: can _I_ have a TELEPATHICALLY CONNECTED DINOSAUR?! PLEASE?! My major comment is: I HAVE BEEN INSPIRED BY THIS AND A LOT OF CHANGES ARE DUE TO THIS INSPIRATION.

Man it's a good comic. Marvel needs to quit this Avengers Crap and bring me the telepathic dinosaur. Though my comic book heart will forever belong to Batman, they've achieved Second Place.

Anywho, I felt I needed to warn people not because these changes are upsetting - I feel they'll be responded to well - but because a lot of the story is getting set in stone now and I'm receiving comments/concerns (mainly about the Twiwizard Tournament and Yule Ball) that I've already thought out and determined. Also, the whole death and sex thing I just felt it was common courtesy for me to warn you against.

Also, apology for the short chapter and late chapter. I had writer's block and my sister came to visit once again, this time to grab my stuff - there's a big moving in caravan and everything.

Now that I've gotten a rambling trip to nowhere done with, shout out time! Thank you to Lepto, MnM-Flurry, DollLovestoRead, exzachly3, and isk2837 for following/favoriting this story. And thank you to H.M. Mindy, magical fan18, rangerhero, puncher71, KeeperOfDreams93, MnM-Flurry, Edmond O'Donald, and exzachly3 for reviewing! The reviews are awesome and I really appreciate them.

Please review!


	29. Author's Note I was Eaten by Science

AN: THIS IS NOT A REAL CHAPTER

I know, I am a horrible human being.

So, I am really sorry for not updating for so long. And the wait is only going to probably get longer, people. This AN is so short because I barely have time to type it up.

Basically... I'm swamped. If you've checked out my profile page you'd know this, but for the non-creepers: I go to the University of Notre Dame. I'm currently a sophomore there and am majoring in biology.

For some reason, the science department that the best way to educate the biology majors was by making them take Genetics, the hardest biology class required, and Organic Chemistry 2, the hardest non-bio science class required, at the same. damn. time.

WHO BLOODY WELL PLANNED THIS NONSENSE?!

My friends and I have realized too late that we can't change this. We bought our books.

Bullocks.

So I'm swamped. On top of that I'm taking Geology, doing undergraduate research, and taking theology.

I'm doing 17 credits (for those of you who know what I'm talking about,) and 14 of those are science. I spend nine hours in lab classes and that doesn't count the time I spend in my research lab.

If you want to know what I do in my research lab, mainly we research sympatric methods of speciation in different species of insect, mainly parasitoid wasps that usually utilize hawthorn fruit as host fruit, however they have been known to also utilize apple fruit. We work a lot with Rhagoletis pomonella, but we work with other creatures too. Last semester my job was taking different subspecies of beetle that had different host beans - lentil beans mainly, probably some others, that wasn't really my job - and putting different beetles from different jars into petri dishes, mainly just one male and one female, and seeing if they copulate despite being from different host plants. This semester my job is to complete a data set collected a decade ago by taking the decade-long frozen samples of different kinds of insects - caterpillars, wasps, plum curculios - that hatched from the same fruit as Rhagoletis flies (literally over 1000 different fruits and hundreds of flies and insects,) and weighing them and reclassifying them to create literally the most impressive data sheet I've ever seen, that will help us understand the evolution of the Rhagoletis flies and their predators in the wild.

Anyways, lots of science in my life, and I basically have to study constantly. And then there's the mild issue that I live with my friends, so when I'm not studying I'm dragged on adventures - saw Hamlet, had a nerf war, watched the Prince of Egypt, normal college stuff... but I don't even spend my free time writing.

And the real problem is is that I need to get all A's this semester (except in Orgo, there I just need a B) for my parents to let me study abroad next year in London... and I hate to say this, but I want this more than I want to write this very instant.

I HAVE NOT ABANDONED THIS STORY and I hope you won't abandon me. I will try to update before then, but my fall break starts October 13 and that'll be the week you can expect me to update before I come home for Christmas Vacation. So please, be patient and stick with me in the interim while I learn ALL THE GENETICS and ALL THE ORGANIC REACTIONS and ALL THE ROCK TYPES! (Hate to say this, but I went to a Catholic School. Theology isn't really my major concern.)

I love you guys and appreciate you and your enthusiasm so much, so please don't loose it because I'm buried under science. Literally. Today the fruit flies for Genetics Lab Class flew out and it was just... THE SWARM, GUYS, THE SWARM. Plus the ether got to my head.

So I delayed going to sleep early so I could send this to you guys so you would know I'm alive... as alive as a first semester sophomore biology major who decided to take another science as her elective can be.

Side Note - I HAVE A BETA! Thank you Edmond O'Donald for spit firing ideas with me... and being patient with my collegiate status.

I really want to go to grad school, guyssssss... please forgive me.

Another side note... I'll do proper shout outs the next time I update, but here's a response to an anonymous review I received:

Georgesgirl, I apologize for writing this so publically, but... you should have read the summary for this story. The main character Maggie is going to end up with Neville, and George ends up with someone else. I apologize for what is probably a severe disappointment for you, but I've made that clear from the beginning, from the summary. But besides, that, I'm really glad you like this story.

I'm sorry that I had to do that, but the review was... well, I don't want to say anything mean so I won't.

Thank you guys for your patience and understanding. Also, keep my horrors in your thoughts/prayers...

A! A! A! A!

Tapping into my inner Hermione.

Love,

Meg


	30. Ch 28: September 1st – September 2nd

September 1st – September 2nd, 1994, Hogwarts

The rain was coming down in sheets as the train rumbled up to the castle. We all stepped off the train together, the four of us rushing towards a carriage to try and keep as dry as possible.

"I feel bad for Elena, having to cross the lake in this," Harry sighed.

"She's really starting off Hogwarts on the right foot," I nodded with a frown as the carriage rattled and rolled through the water and cobblestones up to the castle. Lightning flashed dramatically and we all managed to scurry into the castle. The real feat was sneaking by Peeves, who was dropping water balloons on students, and who was currently being screamed at by Professor McGonagall as we rushed inside and took our seats at the Gryffindor table, soaking wet.

"Hey Harry, Maggie, Hermione, Neville," Ginny beamed when we sat across from her. I immediately sat next to George on the other side of Harry and he grinned at me as well.

"Hey Gin," Neville smiled at her and wrung out his tie of water onto the ground below the table, "I need some sort of drying spell."

"I think we learn them in sixth year in charms," Hermione commented in response.

"Darn, something I will never learn," I grinned.

"What house do you think your sister will be in?" George asked.

"No idea," I frowned, "Actually… any house except for Gryffindor really."

"Shame," Fred shook his head sadly.

I looked up to the long table and frowned.

"Who d'you think is the next Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" I asked.

"Maybe they couldn't find anyone to do it? I mean people think the job's jinxed, don't they?" Hermione responded in puzzlement.

"But then what would they do, Hermione? It's not like they can just cut the subject," Fred responded with a grin. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him and turned back to face the table again.

"I'm starving," George grumbled next to me.

"They are taking their time," Harry agreed.

"I'm sure the students are all sopping wet and need help," Hermione answered reasonably.

"We need help drying up too," Neville rolled his eyes.

"They're _First-Years_, Neville," Hermione scolded.

At that moment though Professor McGonagall came in, dripping wet, leading the train of first years up to the front of the Hall. A very short boy with mousy hair was wearing Hagrid's Moleskin overcoat, making him look like he was draped in a tent. I could see my sister, her red hair pulled into side braids. She was standing next to a girl around her height, with wavy, dirty blonde hair that she had pulled into a ponytail.

Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on the stool and the tear in the brim opened, bursting into song.

"_A thousand years or more ago  
When I was newly sewn  
There lived four wizards of renown  
Whose names are still well known:  
Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,  
Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,  
Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,  
Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.  
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,  
They hatched a daring plan  
To educate young sorcerers  
Thus Hogwarts School began.  
Now each of these four founders  
Formed their own House, for each  
Did value different virtues  
in the ones they had to teach.  
By Gryffindor, the bravest were  
Prized far beyond the rest;  
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest  
Would always be the best;  
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were  
Most worth of admission;  
And power-hungry Slytherin  
Loved those of great ambition.  
While still alive they did divide  
Their favorites from the throng,  
Yet how to pick the worthy ones  
When they were dead and gone?  
'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,  
He whipped me off his head  
The founders put some brains in me  
So I could choose instead!  
Now slip me snug about your ears,  
I've never yet been wrong,  
I'll have a look inside your mind  
And tell where you belong!_"

Since my sister was going to be sorted, I made sure to pay close attention to her future classmates and the names of the people going up.

"Ackerley, Stewart!" A shaking boy walked up to the stool and sat down.

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Baddock, Malcolm!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Branstone, Eleanor!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Cauldwell, Owen!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Creevey, Dennis!"

I recognized the name and the boy with the sopping wet overcoat walked up. He looked remarkably like Collin, his older brother.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted and the little boy ran down eagerly to sit with his brother.

"Dewar, Claire!"

The blonde girl who had been standing next to my sister walked up. She had a very confident smile on her face and you could tell that she would be remarkably pretty when she got older.

The hat took its time on her; after a long pause, it finally opened its brim and shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"

I frowned, hoping that wouldn't influence my sister at all.

The list went on.

"Dobbs, Emma!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Edgecomb, Nia!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The next Gryffindor was another blonde girl, her hair going down to the small of her back as she skipped down to join our table.

"Everett, Katherine!"

The hat took barely two seconds before it shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The girl was tanned, with long brown hair braided down her back. She looked like she didn't want to make any friends at all and I hoped that she would bond with my similarly minded sister.

"Fitzgerald, Collin!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Flint, Vincent!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Fudge, Luke!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Goldstein, Nathaniel!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Greengrass, Astoria!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Harper, Nick!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Hornby, Caroline!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Hughes, Lisa!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Johnson, Elena!"

I felt panic enter my soul as my little sister followed Lisa Hughes up to the stool. I gripped George's hand and he held mine tightly as the hat took its time with her too, seemingly debating. She looked fairly calm underneath it, until –

"SLYTHERIN!"

"_No_," I groaned, burying my face in my hands as my sister walked down to the Slytherin table. She sat with the Claire girl, but on her other side the boy who had preceded her – Nick Harper – slid over father away from her. In fact, most of the Slytherins moved away from her as "Jones, Gwyneth" was sorted into Hufflepuff.

"Oh no," Harry whispered when he noticed the same thing.

"She's not going to have many friends," Hermione murmured sadly.

George frowned, looking troubled as well, watching my sister with concern as eventually only Claire was sitting by her. I was surprised she stayed.

Thomas Leach and Phillip Levitt came over to join us at the Gryffindor table, and Mei Li followed as well. Laura Madley and Peter Marlow went to Hufflepuff. Peter Marlow was a blonde boy who looked very cheerful and appreciative of everyone around him, which made an impression on me. Then Natalie McDonald went to Gryffindor, followed immediately by Toshiko Nogi. William O'Callaghan also went to Gryffindor. Jimmy Peaks also came to Gryffindor; Graham Pritchard went to Slytherin, Orla Quirke to Ravenclaw, Jennifer Rosenthal to Slytherin, and Barbara Russell to Hufflepuff. The list continued. Ignatius Smith went to Ravenclaw followed by Emily Stevenson. Asgar Sury went to Hufflepuff with Vanessa Taylor following him. Samantha Thompson went to Slytherin, Hari Tushar went to Ravenclaw, Sean Watson went to Slytherin and finally Kevin Whitby went to Hufflepuff.

"I can't believe it," I moaned when the sorting had finished, staring over at my sister and her friend who were now completely isolated. Claire, however, looked rather pompous about her position, as though she was better than everyone else for being Elena's friend willingly. And perhaps, in a way, she was.

Professor Dumbledore got to his feet, opening his arms wide and declaring, "Well, tuck in everyone!"

I piled food onto my plate but I found I wasn't hungry much. I had never been this upset at a sorting ceremony. I kept looking up at Elena and seeing how she wasn't touching her food much, either.

"Try to eat, Maggie," George murmured, "You've got to have something."

"I'm not hungry," I responded blankly. Harry nodded next to me, pushing his plate away.

"You should eat, you know," Nearly Headless Nick reprimanded next to us, "The House-Elves worked very hard in the kitchens all evening and –"

_Clang_.

Hermione had knocked over her goblet in horror and I turned to look at her in shock.

"There are house elves _here_?" she gasped, "At _Hogwarts_?"

"Um… yeah?" I asked, frowning at her, "They work in the kitchens, don't they?"

"There's loads of them," George nodded.

"I've never seen _one_!" Hermione cried.

"They're always in the kitchen, aren't they?" I asked calmly.

"They come out at night to see to fires and things, but you aren't supposed to see them," Nearly Headless Nick added on.

"Why didn't you _tell_ me?" Hermione asked, looking horrified.

"I thought you knew?" I responded, grimacing. Hermione looked at her own plate of food and pushed it away as well.

"Slave labor made this food. I refuse to eat it."

I had never thought of that before, and it was startling to consider. Luckily, I had already lost my appetite.

Eventually everyone made their way through the rest of the meal and then pudding, Harry Hermione and I just staring at our plates. Dumbledore then finally came up to the head of the staff table, looking around at all of us with a smile on his wise old face.

"So! Now that we are all fed and watered," Dumbledore began.

Hermione made a noise of fury and Fred patted her on the shoulder.

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it."

Fred and George grinned mischievously at each other and I giggled.

"As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out of bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year. It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"_What?!_" Harry gasped in protest. Fred and George both looked like they were going to punch someone.

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy – but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts…"

The door suddenly opened as a great roll of thunder came in to the Great Hall. A man stood in the doorway to the hall, leaning on a staff, shrouded in a cloak. We all turned to look at him as he was illuminated by lightening. It was Alastor Moody, the friend of my parents. Harry and I looked at each other in shock as he walked up to the staff table and moved around to the other side, sitting down and drinking from a flask and eating sausages.

"He must be the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher," I hissed in Harry's ear and he nodded in agreement as Professor Dumbledore assured the same thing.

Fred and George, however, looked confused.

"_Mad-Eye Moody_?" Fred muttered irritably. Hermione looked at him, as she was sitting next to him, and frowned.

"Mad-Eye?"

"He's a bit on the loony side. He used to be a dark-wizard catcher, went a bit crazy after the war," Fred explained to her, turning to face her too, "This morning he had a bit of a bother – thought someone had broken into his house but no one was around. Dad had to go in and help."

"He didn't strike me as being overly cautious…" I frowned.

"He was terrified of everyone around him, Maggie, how could you miss that?" Harry laughed.

I rolled my eyes at him and turned my attention back to Dumbledore.

"As I was saying, we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"YOU'RE JOSHING ME!" George roared. Everyone in the hall burst into laughter and I teasingly hugged him in amusement.

"I am _not_ joshing you, Mr. Weasley," Professor Dumbledore smiled as he continued, "Though I would beware if I were to offer you an acid pop…"

Professor McGonagall shot him a look and Professor Dumbledore continued, "At any rate, the Triwizard Tournament… Some of you know what this involves, so I hope that those who _do_ know will forgive me for giving a short explanation and allow their attention to wander freely. The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry. Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represents each school and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities – until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."

"Death toll?" Hermione looked alarmed. I grinned, suddenly deciding that I would definitely be trying for this.

"There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament, none of which has been very successful. However, our own Departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger," Dumbledore continued.

I frowned. I did my best work when in mortal danger

"The Heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their shortlisted contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worth to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money," Dumbledore continued.

I felt my eyes widen and George hissed in my ear, "I'm _so_ going for it." I nodded eagerly next to him.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts, the Heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age – that is to say, seventeen years or older – will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This," Dumbledore paused as Fred, George and I made sounds of protest, "Is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion. I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen. The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Off you go!" Dumbledore finished.

We all started walking up to the Common Room together, Fred and George grumbling to themselves.

"There's got to be a way to get around this," Fred grunted.

"Seriously, this isn't fair, we turn seventeen in April!" George agreed.

"We've had the same amount of schooling as someone in our year who has already turned seventeen, what's the difference?" Fred grumbled.

"I think it's a good thing," Hermione declared firmly, "It sounds very dangerous and your mum wouldn't like the idea of you two risking your necks for a bit of gold."

"A _bit_ of _gold_?" Fred reeled, "Hermione, it's _a thousand galleons_. That's more than any us have ever seen, or are ever likely to see in one place during our entire lifetimes."

"It's not worth you risking your neck!" Hermione responded firmly. I laughed slightly at her response, as there had been many things Hermione had risked her own neck for over the years – a stone that turned all metal into gold, for one. But there were different principles at work in that particular situation. Harry suddenly looked embarrassed, staring down at his plate as though he was hiding something.

I rolled my eyes and stated, "It's a moot point. If Dumbledore is doing this, then there's no hope to trick the 'impartial judge,' whoever he is."

Harry had a rather iffy look on his face as we all rose up the steps to the tower.

"I dunno if I'd want to do it," Harry paused, "I mean, a thousand galleons and eternal glory would be nice, but…"

"You've had all the excitement you'll need for a lifetime?" I laughed.

"Precisely," he nodded seriously.

"Maybe there'll be a dragon and you can ride on that one, too," Neville joked.

"Don't make empty promises Neville," I sighed.

"Don't worry, you'll find a dragon again," he chuckled as we entered the Common Room. George then pulled me aside, leading me to a corner of the Common Room.

"You tired?" he asked cheerfully, his hand suddenly on my waist.

"Um, yeah," I smiled awkwardly, trying to move away from him, "I'm sorry George, I'm exhausted."

He sighed, pressing the side of his face to mine, "Really?"

"Really," I leaned up and pressed my lips to his quickly and then backing away, "Tomorrow, I promise."

"Alright, alright," George nodded, releasing me, "I understand. Night Maggie," he squeezed my hand and walked up the boy's staircase. I walked up the girl's and clamored into bed, eagerly finding myself comfortable at last.

I walked down to the Great Hall upon waking and sat with my friends, nestling between George and Harry and grabbing a bagel.

"Morning looks good," Neville offered calmly, looking down at the timetable that Hermione had just handed me, "Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures. This afternoon we've got double Arithmancy," he sighed, "Great. We're doing advanced calculus date predictions this term."

"You'll be fine. I have to deal with the great toad Trelawney," Harry grumbled.

"You should have dropped it too Harry, and I'll always say so," Hermione stated calmly as she read the day's _Daily Prophet_.

"Anything blasphemous or incriminating in the paper?" I asked curiously as I felt George's hand pat me on the knee, on the rare space of skin between the end of my skirt and the start of my knee sock. I jumped slightly but managed to pass it off as an itch as I nervously nibbled at my bagel. George smirked slightly as his fingers squeezed my knee. I felt both thrilled and terrified at the same time as I tried to look innocent and finished my food in the least efficient way possible.

"Nothing new," Hermione shook her head and frowned, putting the paper down.

"It's quiet for now," Fred frowned.

A small silence settled over the table as we all stared at each other in mild concern. The lack of noise on the Death Eater front was concerning to us all.

"Shall we go to Herbology?" Hermione asked calmly as George's hand started to go underneath my skirt and I jumped a little more.

"Sounds good," I agreed, standing up like nothing was happening with George and grabbing my bag. He looked up at me expectantly and I realized that he wanted a kiss, which I somehow managed to oblige without blushing.

"Happy Birthday Maggie," George smiled at me and I smiled back, now flushing a little bit. We started walking off to Herbology, Harry Hermione Neville and I, with them all instantly throwing in their own statements of happy birthday as we walked down to the greenhouses.

I stood by Neville, as we always did, Neville smiling at me slightly as we looked at the giant thick plant slugs in front of us.

"What d'you reckon that is?" I asked curiously, looking at the thing and frowning at it.

"Bubotuber. No question," Neville grinned just as Professor Sprout walked up in front of the class and confirmed this.

"They need squeezing. You will collect the pus –"

"Pus?" Seamus Finnegan gagged. Neville immediately looked like he had been given a great challenge. I smirked slightly in response.

"Pus, Finnegan, Pus," Professor Sprout snapped, "And it's extremely valuable, so don't waste it. You will collect the pus, I say, in those bottles. Wear your dragon-hide gloves, it can do funny things to the skin when undiluted, Bubotuber pus."

Neville and I immediately began popping the Bubotubers, immediately entering into a competition as to who could pop the most number, somehow unfazed by the sheer disgusting nature of the situation. And, though Neville won the competition, we as a pair turned in the most amount of pus of all, high fiving as we left the greenhouse early and went to sit out near Hagrid's Hut under a tree.

We sat there, making chit chat for a moment, before Neville paused awkwardly. He seemed torn as he blurted out, "Are you happy?"

"Course I am," I laughed, before frowning, "But I assume you don't mean in general."

"I mean with George," Neville clarified, sighing, "I mean, does he make you happy?"

"Yeah," I mumbled in embarrassed response, "Why d'you ask?"

"Just cause you're one of my best friends, and I don't want to see you hurt," Neville quickly responded, almost as though he didn't want me to say anything after that question.

"Thanks Nev," I smiled, "I can count on you to kick his ass if need be?"

"You can always count on that," Neville beamed as Hermione and Harry, along with the rest of the class, came out and joined us as we got to our feet.

"Hey you guys, ready for Creatures class?" Hermione asked as we reached Hagrid's Hut.

"Of course," I laughed as we walked over to the class and stood next to Hagrid. He was standing next to a bunch of crates, a strange rattling noise emitting from them.

"Mornin'! Be'er wait fer the Slytherins, they won' want ter miss this – Blast-Ended Skrewts!"

"Huh?" I asked in confusion. I'd never heard of that.

Hagrid pointed down in the crates for us to see somewhat mutilated looking lobsters, pale and greasy, with legs sticking out at strange angles and no clear cephalization to be seen. I grimaced and looked over at Harry, who looked rather ill. Each was half a foot long, and there were around a hundred in each crate, like little maggot scorpions moving over one another.

"On'y jus' hatched!" Hagrid declared, "So yeh'll be able ter raise 'em yerselves! Thought we'd make a bit of a project of it!"

"Um… what exactly are they?" Hermione asked. I looked and saw the Slytherins had walked up behind us, but there were only two – Pansy Parkinson and Theodore Nott. No Draco Malfoy to be found. I turned to Harry and beamed widely and he looked equally excited back at me.

"Looks like Malfoy dropped this class," Neville hissed happily to us.

It seemed Pansy had not been informed of this, as she appeared peeved to be alone amongst all the Gryffindors and Nott.

Hagrid, however, was having trouble answering Hermione's question.

"The skrewts are interesin' creatures, but we'll discuss that in the next lesson. Yer jus' feedin' 'em today. Now, yeh'll wan' ter try 'em on a few diff'rent things – I've never had 'em before, not sure what they'll go fer – I got ant eggs an' frog livers an' a bit o'grass snake – just try 'em out with a bit of each," Hagrid ordered.

"Joy," Neville sighed as we four took to a crate and tried to feed them, however we couldn't seem to figure out anything that they enjoyed eating. In fact, I wasn't sure they had mouths.

I reached down into a crate and tried to give a skrewt a snake when I got stung, the end exploding and a burn appearing on my hand.

"Hagrid!" Neville immediately shouted.

"Ah, yeah, that happens when they blast off," Hagrid explained quickly as walked over, "We'll get yeh some ointment."

"Thanks Hagrid," I nodded.

"What's the pointy thing?" Dean Thomas asked curiously.

"Some of 'em got stings," Hagrid eagerly explained, "I reckon they're males… the females've got sorta sucker things on their bellies… I think they might be ter suck blood."

"Great," Pansy Parkinson sneer ed, "These are definitely things I want as a pet and not something I'd call a pest in any way."

"Just because they're not very pretty, it doesn't mean they're not useful," Hermione snapped, "Dragon blood's amazing magical, but you wouldn't want a dragon for a pet, would you?"

Neville elbowed me in the side and I shook my head calmly, grimacing down at my hand burn. Eventually we finished with the class and walked back up to the castle.

"Alright, usually I'm on board with Hagrid, but even I have some lines that cannot be crossed," I grumbled.

"Yeah, I'm not really a fan of them," Neville sighed.

"At least they're small," Harry offered.

"For now," Hermione sighed, "I think we need to get rid of the lot of them before they start attacking us."

As we walked up to the Great Hall Hermione held me back with a jolt.

"I want to get to the library, to start working on the elf liberation society," Hermione explained, "Do you want to come with me?"

I remembered George wanting to eat lunch with me and maybe hanging out afterwards, but at the same time, I wasn't really eager for a similar situation to the morning so soon. I had much too many feelings about the situation to sort them out so soon.

"Sure, let's just skip lunch. Are you even hungry?" I asked. She shook her head and beamed.

"I'm glad you're on board with this, I was _so_ afraid I'd have to do this alone," Hermione sighed.

"Don't worry, I want to help them too," I laughed as we headed up to the library. I never thought I would willingly go to the library with Hermione, but I guess all words are eventually eaten.

AN: Alright, so I lied a little. The major changes are when the champions for the Tournament are picked. Until then it's still the same. Oops.

I'M BACK! LOOK! LOOK! A CHAPTER! I'M NOT DEAD! HUZZAH! I'M ALIVE! LOOK AT THIS! HOPEFULLY I'LL UPDATE MORE THIS WEEK TOO! In case you were wondering, I currently have A's in Theology and Genetics and a B+ in Organic Chemistry (B on first test, A on second. Aiming for an A in the course.) I've dropped Geology, it was too much work on top of Genetics and Orgo.

THANK YOU TO MY WONDERFUL BETA EDMOND O'DONALD FOR READING THROUGH THIS CHAPTER FOR ME AND EDITING THINGS. Can you tell it's edited for once? I must confess I usually just chug out words and post without looking it over and catch a lot of mistakes when I read through later, but am just too lazy to correct them. Typos happen. But let's have a nice round of internet applause four good ol' Edmond! *cues applause*

Just count down with me guys. My Winter month long break happens the third week of December. Think of ALL THE UPDATING that'll happen then. And think of how happy I shall be, done with this awful semester of... awfulness. Halleluiah. Seriously.

In other news, just read Divergent. It was pretty good! (Needed something for the bus ride home.) Now starting on Insurgent because I'm really good at being productive over breaks, guys. Seriously. It's not like I have two chem lab reports, a bio lab paper, a bio lab test, bio reading and orgo reading hanging over my head. No. Not at all. BOOKS COME FIRST.

SHOUT OUTS. This'll be interesting as I haven't exactly been getting things since I went on my school hiatus. To the INTERWEBS for checking. Thanks to: FleurSuoh, GeorgesGirl, Amber mcCracking/H.M. Mindy, ROBERT-19588, TRAFALGARLAWSGURL22, SupaCrazee, TheBloodyPheonix, KeeperofDreams93, Cooky Crumbla, Edmond O'Donald, and rangerhero for reviewing. I'm sorry for the wait guys, but hopefully you'll have the time to check out and review this new chapter. Now, I'll probably miss some of you, but thanks to these Alerts/Favoriters: sheikazutaralover, andrewjeeves, ROBERT-19588, Michele-Rhine, TRAFALGARLAWSGURL22, and kikakukage. Please feel free to review!

Review guys, or else I'll feel I've lost you guys on my hiatus. I really do apologize for school and what it does to my life, but I really never have time to type this. But I'll do my best this week and I hope you guys will read with me.

Thanks, and review!

~Meg

P.S. NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH ARE 6-0!


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